“…As expected, the main components of the ESM are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. As has been shown elsewhere [31,32], the Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum of ESM (Figure 3) shows, in the region of higher wavenumbers, an intensive peak at 3271 cm −1 , which corresponds to the stretching mode of O-H and N-H groups. Peaks at 2923 and 2102 cm −1 correspond to the asymmetric stretching vibrations of the C-H bonds present in =C-H and =C-H 2 groups, while in the region with lower wavenumbers, the peaks at 1628 cm −1 , 1531 cm −1 , and 1446 cm −1 represent the C=O stretching, N-H bending amide absorption bonds, and CH 2 scissoring bonds, respectively.…”