[Historical study on spectrometry innovation for the structural analysis of organic compounds (part 1)]

Structural determination methods of organic compounds have long been accomplished by a comparison of the physical properties (e.g., melting point) of the known compounds. After World War II, these methods were converted to methods comparing the spectra of the compounds. Some spectrometries such as ultraviolet (UV), infrared (IR), mass (MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) were used to determine the structures. The first spectrometry innovations (1950s). In the 1950s, some functional groups of organic compounds were confirmed by UV spectrometry, especially for enones and holoketones. Several groups, such as carbonyl, hydroxyl, and cyano groups, were confirmed by IR spectrometry. Second spectrometry innovations (1960s). In the 1960s, the organic MS spectrometer (a single-focus instrument) was presented. The determination of the organic formula and molecular weight in the organic compounds are effective by MS spectrometry. The NMR spectrometer (a 60 MHz instrument) was presented, in which the chemical shift values and the H-H coupling constant were very effective in the structural confirmation of many organic compounds.