Using the polarizing microscope to complement microscopic FT-IR spectroscopy

The authors present three examples to show how information acquired from bo th microscopic infrared spectroscopy and a polarizing microscope provide mo re definitive information and quicker analyses than with Fourier transform- infrared spectroscopy alone. The polarizing microscope was used to confirm that the bulk of a sample mixture consisted of starch with a few sugar crys tals, to quickly assess whether a blend of cotton and polyethylene terephth alate was present in a conveyor belt, and to differentiate between silk and wool.