Taha Elgayyar*,
Federico Azzolina-Jury
and
Frédéric Thibault-Starzyk
Université de Caen Normandie, ENSICAEN, CNRS, Laboratoire Catalyse et Spectrochimie, 14000 Caen, France. E-mail: tahaelgayyar1@gmail.com
First published on 8th October 2025
IR spectroscopy has been extensively employed to characterize the structural and vibrational properties of carbonates; yet, its application in studying the adsorption capacity of carbonate surfaces remains limited. This short review presents the use of FTIR as a powerful tool for investigating the structure and surface chemistry of carbonates, which is relevant to several environmental and industrial applications (such as CO2 capture and storage). Several FTIR techniques provide detailed analysis of the structure of carbonate polymorphs (calcite, aragonite, vaterite, and amorphous phases) alongside their phase transformation kinetics. In addition, adsorption studies of various molecules (CO, CO2, H2O, acids and several HCs) were performed to identify the adsorption sites, mechanisms and intermediates. These insights highlight the significance of IR spectroscopy for understanding the carbonate structure and surface properties, and guide future research in several environmental and industrial processes where carbonates are involved.
Mastering surface chemistry of carbonates is not possible without a good understanding of the possible adsorption modes and of the various possible reaction mechanisms on the surface of carbonates. One of the most powerful methods for monitoring adsorption phenomena is infrared spectroscopy6 and it has been used extensively to study the formation of surface carbonates by adsorption of CO2 on various oxides.7 Carbonates themselves have been studied by IR spectroscopy but a systematic study of adsorbed species on solid carbonates is still missing.
This work reviews literature information and data obtained by IR spectroscopy on the various chemical species found on the surface of carbonates, together with the basic information on the carbonate structure where relevant.
Vibration mode | ν1 | ν2 | ν3 | ν4 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Assignment | Symmetric in-plane stretch | Out-of-plane bend | Asymmetric in-plane stretch | In-plane bend |
Wavenumber (cm−1) | 1070–1090 | 850–880 | 1400–1500 | 700–750 |
Carbonates also display, between 2900 and 4000 cm−1, some other IR absorption bands due to overtones and combinations of the fundamental bands,13 including some weak combination bands at 1795 and 2514 cm−1.3 Interestingly, for studying surface species, some combination bands around 3000 cm−1, indeed due to the carbonate structure, are sometimes mistaken for C–H stretch absorption bands.
The different IR techniques such as IRRAS, DRIFTS, transmission IR and ATR display differences in the spectra measured for the same sample. Fig. 1 (ref. 14) shows IR spectra of BaCO3 measured using four IR techniques. This figure shows the higher surface sensitivity of DRIFTS and transmission IR as evidenced by the surface bands observed in the 2400–3000 cm−1 region and assigned to O–H stretching of hydrogen carbonate species,15 while ATR and IRRAS are rather bulk-sensitive. Interestingly, there are noticeable band ν3 position shifts between all four techniques, mostly due to the instrument configuration. The IRRAS spectrum displayed a significant blueshift, which could be due to a change in the refractive index while scanning over the band range.
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Fig. 1 IR spectra of BaCO3 measured using different IR techniques. Adapted from ref. 14 with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2008. |
IR spectroscopy provides information on the structure and properties of CaCO3 polymorphs,17–19 as displayed in Fig. 2.18 The relative intensities of the ν1 (∼1100 cm−1) and ν4 (∼700 cm−1) and the splitting of the ν4 and ν3 (1400–1500 cm−1) can be used to identify the varieties (amorphous CaCO3, vaterite, aragonite or calcite), especially with noticeable low intensity of the ν1 vibration band for calcite.
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Fig. 2 IR spectra of (A) amorphous CaCO3, (B) vaterite, (C) aragonite, and (D) calcite. Adapted from ref. 18 with permission from Scandinavian Society of Chemistry, copyright 1991. |
In the near-IR, several absorption bands are present due to overtones and combinations of the fundamental bands. The spectral region between 3920 and 28600 cm−1 (Fig. 3) was used to identify and distinguish calcite, aragonite and dolomite using seven characteristic bands for carbonates in the range of 3900–6250 cm−1,20 with major bands at 4000 cm−1 (ref. 21) and 4250–4350 cm−1.13,21
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Fig. 3 Vis-NIR reflectance spectra of CaCO3 minerals. Adapted from ref. 20 with permission from Mineralogical Society of America, copyright 1986. |
Spectral features in the near IR and higher end of the MIR were used to determine carbonate content in arid soil samples.22 However, the PLSR (partial least-squares regression) efficiency of the method was found to be only 52% due to the overlapping of other soil components (illite and chlorite) with similar spectral features. The accuracy would have been improved by extending the measurement range to lower frequency MIR and FIR.
Similarly, the spectral range 28600–2000 cm−1 was used to detect anhydrous carbonate minerals using bands at ∼4350, 4000, 2940, 2560 and 2130 cm−1 (Fig. 4).21 In addition, water related spectral features were detected at 10
000, 8330, 7140–6670, 5260, and 3570 cm−1. However, some typical characteristic carbonate IR bands were shifted, weak or absent in the case of hydrous carbonates and these minerals may be difficult to identify or distinguish from other hydrous minerals such as sulphates or chlorides.
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Fig. 4 NIR reflectance spectra (at 2000–28![]() |
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Fig. 5 IR spectra of (a) AOT-ACC, (b) calcite (heating ramp = 10 °C min−1), and (c) vaterite (ramp = 1 °C min−1). Adapted with permission from ref. 23 with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2013. |
ACC transformation into calcite (via thermal treatment and by exposure to water at RT) was monitored by IR, XRD and TGA.24 Heating ACC resulted in the removal of adsorbed water above 100 °C with the formation of calcite at 270–400 °C. Similarly, exposure to a water/ethanol solution resulted in the crystallization of ACC. However, the product varied depending on the amount of water and the duration of exposure. Small water amount and/or short exposure time led to the formation of aragonite and/or vaterite, while more water and/or prolonged exposure led to the formation of calcite. The authors studied the influence of adding anionic polyelectrolytes, mimicking soluble proteins for inhibition of crystallization.
Similarly, the transformation of ACC to calcite was shown, using IR monitoring, to proceed via vaterite as a transition state.25 A two-step mechanism was suggested starting with the formation of vaterite particles followed by a much slower step of redissolution and precipitation into calcite. Fig. 6 shows the XRD patterns corresponding to each step as well as the IR spectra of the initial and final materials.
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Fig. 6 Infrared spectra of ACC and calcite (top) showing the change in water content from the amorphous hydrated precursor to the non-hydrated crystalline calcium carbonate phases. ‘A’ and ‘F’ represent the same samples shown in the XRD patterns (bottom) of solids collected at different elapsed times during the off-line experiments, showing ACC, vaterite and calcite. Adapted from ref. 25 with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2011. |
IR was used to study naturally occurring spicules, skeletal elements in marine animals consisting of stable ACC entirely (in the ascidian Pyura pachydermatina) or of a composite of ACC and calcite (in the sponge Clathrina) (Fig. 7). In both cases, the presence of ACC was associated with proteins rich in glutamic acid (and/or glutamine), serine, glycine and polysaccharides,26 while calcite was associated with proteins rich in aspartic acid (and/or asparagine).
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Fig. 7 IR spectra of calcium carbonates from (a) geological calcite, (b) separated calcitic cores from the Clathrina spicules, (c) intact Clathrina spicules (note the atypical broadening of the calcitic peaks and the additional absorption at 1080 cm−1), (d) P.pachydermaha spicules, and (e) synthetic amorphous CaCO3 grown in the presence of the macromolecules extracted from the amorphous layer of Clathrina spicules. Adapted from ref. 26 with permission from Wiley Online Library, copyright 1996. |
Aragonite and vaterite transformation by heating into the more stable phase calcite was followed by IR spectroscopy.19,27 The least stable phase vaterite was first prepared and its transformation into the other two phases was controlled. These transformations were clearly demonstrated by the significant changes in IR spectra at 650–1200 cm−1 (Fig. 8).
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Fig. 8 FTIR spectra (650–1200 cm−1) of (a) the vaterite sample, and when it was refluxed in distilled water for (b) 30 min, (c) 60 min, and (d) 75 min. Adapted from ref. 27 with permission from American Chemical Society, copyright 2010. |
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Fig. 9 Relationship between the O–H frequency (ν) and O–H⋯O distance in H-bonds (RO–H⋯O); where ν0 = 3756 cm−1 on the Y-axis. Adapted from ref. 28 with permission from Mineralogical Society of America, copyright 1971. |
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Fig. 10 Spectra of the hydrous magnesium carbonate minerals in the near infrared. Adapted from ref. 28 with permission from Mineralogical Society of America, copyright 1971. |
Co-adsorption with water was found to strengthen CO adsorption on some solids and red-shift its absorption band31 and similarly CO2 adsorption on carbonate was enhanced due to adsorbed water.29 Several adsorption models also explained the relationship between heats of adsorption, temperature and coverage. Temkin's model32,33 suggests that heat of adsorption is inversely proportionally to coverage, and coverage is inversely proportional to temperature with a plateau of full coverage at relatively low temperatures.
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Fig. 11 IRRAS spectra with p-polarized light for CO adsorbed on the calcite (10.4) surface at 62 K with increasing exposures (0–2 L). Adapted from ref. 34 with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2021. |
The heat of adsorption and the vibrational spectrum were satisfactorily reproduced by DFT calculations for CO on calcite, with 2177 cm−1 (theoretically) for 2175 cm−1 (measured) at a coverage of 0.5 ML.34
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Fig. 12 Operando CO2 methanation at 400 °C on Ni/dolomite: (Top) evolution of mass spectroscopy signal with reaction time. (Bottom) In situ DRIFT spectra as a function of catalyst temperature. Adapted from ref. 37 with permission from Elsevier B. V., copyright 2024. |
CO2 was similarly found by FTIR to adsorb over hydrotalcite based catalysts during CO2 methanation38 or during surface activation by plasma glow discharge.39 IR absorption bands of several carbonate species were detected upon introducing CO2 over the hydrotalcite based catalyst (Fig. 13).
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Fig. 13 (a) Infrared spectra of CO2 adsorbed on the Ni-hydrotalcite derived catalyst and (b) possible species appeared in the CO2 adsorption experiment. Adapted from ref. 38 with permission from Elsevier B. V., copyright 2023. |
CO2 adsorption was reported (without infrared data) to be positively affected by humidity, and H2O leads to the formation of hydrogen carbonate species where CO2 is adsorbed through –OH groups. Hydrogen carbonate was also formed during CO2 adsorption over oxides depending on surface hydroxylation.7
CO2 adsorption and reactivity were studied on several carbonate minerals and under different adsorption conditions including the presence of co-adsorbents. Adsorption sites and band positions were identified. Yet, FTIR studies are not abundant, and further works could bring about more insights.
As a matter of fact, CO2 and CO adsorption represent a major carbon capture and storage (CCS) methodology which aims at reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Yet, this approach was sparingly followed by FTIR measurement in the literature reports despite its significance.
In this context, samples from naturally occurring carbonate reservoirs were reported to be efficient for CO2 storage. For instance, CO2-saturated brine was transported through the core sample and lead to changes in the permeability and porosity by creating conductive flow channels enhancing the rock's storage capacity.40,41 Moreover, industrial projects were operated by applying CO2 injections into carbonate rock reservoirs worldwide,42,43 and indeed reported CO2 storage efficiency.
On the other hand, over other CCS materials such as metal oxides,7 Mg minerals44 and cementitious materials,45–47 upon adsorption of carbon oxides, carbonate formation was observed which in turn took part in further adsorption. Moreover, an electrochemical process was developed and efficiently capture CO2 and form various carbonate salts48 where the carbonate structure was evidenced by FTIR and XRD. This process represents a simulation of naturally occurring carbonate formation in sea water by the reaction of dissolved CO2 with metal ions.
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Fig. 14 Evolution of ATR-FTIR spectra during water adsorption on calcium carbonate as a function of relative humidity from 10.6 to 95.3% RH (10.6, 20.2, 29.8, 41.6, 50.1, 55.8, 60.1, 65.6, 70.7, 77.3, 81.5 and 95.3% RH). Inset: the ATR-FTIR spectrum of calcium carbonate under dry conditions (<5% RH). Adapted from ref. 30 with permission from Royal Society of Chemistry, copyright 2005. |
Over hydrotalcites,1 H2O adsorption similarly leads to the formation of hydrogen carbonate and to the liberation of CO2. This is accompanied by the formation of –OH groups detected by IR at 1490 and 3500 cm−1 (Fig. 15) and by the loss of carbonyl bond absorption bands at 1340 and 1570 cm−1. Water is suggested to adsorb on cationic metal sites. The formation of hydrogen carbonates was also observed29 as mentioned before.
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Fig. 15 IR spectra of hydrotalcite after (a) adsorption of H2O at 400 °C, (b) desorption of H2O at 400 °C with N2 and (c) adsorption of CO2 at 400 °C after desorption with H2O and N2. The equation shows H2O adsorption and CO2 liberation. Adapted from ref. 1 with permission from Elsevier B. V., copyright 2018. |
Although there are few reports on H2O adsorption on carbonates, valuable information is available about adsorption sites and reactivity. These works also demonstrated the positive effect of humidity on CO2 adsorption and the negative effect of water on the adsorption of aromatic hydrocarbons.
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Fig. 16 [Left] IR spectra at 400–4000 cm−1 of (a) calcite, (b) benzene, and (c) benzene on calcite. [Right] Expanded view of 640–770 cm−1. L: liquid, E: extended adsorption layers, I: first adsorption layer. Adapted from ref. 50 with permission from American Chemical Society, copyright 2015. |
Combining FTIR and DFT investigations proved useful to explain the interaction of calcite with four aromatic compounds.51 Ionic bonds were formed as Ca–O (between calcite and benzoic acid, with the formation of –OH groups via oxygen atoms of calcite) and Ca–N (between calcite and pyridine). Thiophene was adsorbed via O–H bond formation, whereas toluene showed no interaction.
Combined MD and DFT computed a stronger CO2 adsorption on CaCO3 polymorphs compared to CH4 adsorption,2 in agreement with the previously mentioned observations.52 Adsorption strengths of CH4 and CO2 were computed on vaterite, aragonite and calcite.2
Adsorption energies were also computed for benzene and hexane on calcite and dolomite5 and Ca cations were suggested as the most energetically favorable adsorption sites. This is consistent with some experimental studies4,52 but could easily be checked in detail with IR.
Tert-Butyl cyanide (TBC) was used as a probe for acidity on carbonated MgO (containing MgCO3).4 The cyanide group attached itself to Mg cations acts as weak Lewis acid sites. The ν(CN) absorption band is observed at 2234 cm−1 when TBC is only physisorbed, with no strong interaction. When the probe molecule is adsorbed on carbonate-free MgO, it is slightly shifted to 2240 cm−1. On the carbonated solid, the stronger interaction leads to an upward shift to 2262 cm−1, which indicates a stronger electron depletion on the cation because of the carbonate moiety (Fig. 17).
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Fig. 17 Tert-Butyl cyanide adsorption on carbonated MgO activated at 240 °C. The zoom-in region of 2300–2150 cm−1. The deconvolution results are shown in the inset. Adapted from ref. 4 with permission from American Chemical Society, copyright 2011. |
CH4 desorption and recovery from carbonate natural gas reservoirs were improved by hot CO2 gas injections due to a favorable adsorption competition between CO2 and methane52 (Fig. 18). Detailed information on the molecular interactions by IR is, however, missing.
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Fig. 18 Evolution with temperature and pressure of the adsorption and desorption of CO2 (top) and CH4 (below) on carbonate rocks. Adapted from ref. 52 with permission from Elsevier B. V., copyright 2018. |
With aminoacids, experimental information is clearly missing. It was computed that anhydrous ACC favored the adsorption of basic/neutral aminoacids, whereas co-adsorbed water improved the adsorption of acidic aminoacids.53 This study also suggested a faster diffusion of surface Ca2+ compared to the bulk ions. Experimental studies are needed to validate these findings.
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