Returning to the FTIR spectrum, the bands in the region 1500-1600 cm -1 are assigned to the asymmetric stretch of the carboxylate, ν as (COO). While the symmetric stretch, ν s (COO), is expected around 1400-1450 cm -1 , there is significant overlap with CH 2 and CH 3 deformation bands which are expected around 1440-1460. Focusing here on the qualitative differences, we first draw the attention to the spectrum of Zr6-methylheptanoate. In contrast to the IR spectrum of Zr6-pivalate, ν as (COO) is split in two bands (1580 and 1550 cm -1 ).While the Zr6-pivalate has all bridging carboxylates, the band splitting for Zr6methylheptanoate indicates that the part of the methylheptanoate ligands are in the chelating mode. When comparing the pattern of the ν as (COO) bands in Zr6-methylheptanoate with those of Zr12-oleate, we find striking differences. For Zr6-methylheptanoate, the most intense band is at 1580 cm -1 while for Zr12-oleate, the most intense band is at 1532 cm -1 .