Vibrational spectra in the near infrared show a high selectivity for CH, NH and OH groups. Environmental influences on chemical or physical properties of these groups are indicated with particular sensitivity.
For quantitative analyses there is a worldwide increase in using computer based NIR instruments. Even nontransparent or highly scattering samples are nondestructively analysed by diffuse reflectance techniques. In most advanced methods the excitation by dye lasers replaces the less effective conventional sources and monochromators. With increasing excitation energy in NIR the vibrational behaviour changes from normal modes to local modes. Local modes play a key role in understanding bond‐selective photochemical processes. The investigation of local modes will contribute both to the search for dissociation coordinates as well as to understanding those processes which direct the reactions by their sequence and their time scale.