ABSTRACT
The experimental methods differ signicantly for measuring optical rotatory dispersion (ORD), electronic circular dichroism (ECD), vibrational circular dichroism (VCD), and vibrational Raman optical activity (VROA) spectra. Commercial instruments are available for measuring each of these four spectra, which lead to both advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage results from the availability of readily usable instruments (although at a signicant nancial commitment), eliminating the need to build instruments in individual laboratories and facilitating scientists with different research backgrounds in pursuing research in these areas. The main disadvantage accrues when commercial instruments are used as black boxes and potential artifacts (i.e., spurious signals) are not recognized. The goal in this chapter is to give an overview of the experimental methods and to point out the potential pitfalls that one should be aware of.
