Raman excitation profiles of β-carotene - novel insights into the nature of the ν1-band

In the present work we have studied P-carotene dissolved in dichloromethane by means of resonance Raman spectroscopy. To obtain the Raman excitation profiles Raman spectra of beta-carotene have been acquired at various wavelengths throughout the visible region. It was found that the position of the prominent peak at ca, 1524 cm(-1) varies with the excitation wavelength indicating the involvement of two different modes. Possible origins of the different enhancement pattern of the two modes are discussed. (C) 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim