Ron,
My colleagues and I have had bad luck with detecting sugar by FTIR in the past. When you try to extract sugars from concrete you have some obstacles:
1-The sugars have undegone chemical reactions
2-The amounts present are two small
3-Carbonates and other inorganics extracted by water...
I am searching for a method to detect sugar (sucrose/dextrose, glucose) in hardened concrete. Please let me know if you know anything about this subject.
Thanks
TA Thuy Ai Nguyen
Senior Analytical Chemist
Essroc Cement
Anguyen@essroc.com