Old Tools Updated for New Problems: RAMAN Spectroscopic Studies on the Structure of Inorganic Compounds

Abstract

The present paper gives a survey over applications of vibrational spectroscopy — especially RAMAN methods — in inorganic chemistry. The following topics are covered: analytical application for the characterisation of molecular compounds, their symmetry and structure, discussion of bond properties by means of Valence Force Field methods, effects of intermolecular interactions on the spectra of liquids and solids. The importance of intensity calculations for the check and improvement of force field calculations is briefly referred to. These different aspects of RAMAN spectroscopy are introduced using examples from recent literature and from the current work of the author.