Quantitative Analysis of Powdery Sample by Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectrometry: Determination of the <i>α</i>-Component in Silicon Nitride

Abstract

An application of diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectrometry to determine powdery sample with an unknown particle size has been proposed. The usefulness of this technique has been demonstrated for the analysis of the α-component in Si 3 N 4 powders. The particle size of the α-component in Si 3 N 4 powder could be determined by measuring the peak intensity ratio between two peaks (500 and 690 cm −1 ) on the DRIFT spectrum, and the concentration could be determined by comparing the peak intensity to that of standard α-Si 3 N 4 with same particle size. The particle sizes and concentrations obtained by the DRIFT method were in good agreement with those obtained by the light-scattering method and x-ray diffractometry, respectively.