A Virtual or In-Person Infrared Spectroscopy Laboratory Activity for the Analysis of Fibers and Understanding of Spectral Library Searches

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a rapid pivot of instruction in higher education from traditionally in-person modes to virtual modes with a need to maintain student learning outcomes, especially in laboratory courses. The next pandemic and other natural disasters cannot be predicted, and there are other reasons such as lack of resources that may inhibit courses from being implemented in-person. This paper provides a laboratory activity that can be completed in-person or with virtual instruction. This laboratory activity provides a novel approach to teaching students about fiber analysis using ATR-FTIR and elucidates the process of spectral analysis with databases. Students use Excel to simulate spectral library searches on available data and compare those results to the spectral images of standard samples to identify the composition of an unknown fiber. This allows students to understand how spectral library software comparisons are generated as well as the importance of visual examination to identify fiber makeup. The laboratory activity was also used with student generated data combining a traditional hands-on laboratory experience with further understanding of spectral libraries.