Measurement of the Index of Refraction of Solids by UV-Vis Spectroscopy

Gregory J. Exharos
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352-1611
Brian J. Bozlee
Department of Chemistry, Hawaii Pacific University, Kaneohe, HI 96744-5297
Aida E. Jimenez
University of Great Falls, Great Falls, MT 59405
Simone L. van Swam
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 30208
J. Chem. Educ., 2002, 79 (5), p 619
DOI: 10.1021/ed079p619
Publication Date (Web): May 1, 2002

Abstract

In this laboratory exercise, the dispersion curve of CaF2 (i.e., refractive index as a function of wavelength) was determined by temperature-dependent UV-vis spectroscopy of solid CaF2 powder intercalated by liquid hexadecane. The relative error between the literature and the experimental values for the index of refraction of CaF2 was about 1‰ at most visible wavelengths. This exercise introduces students to a novel spectroscopic method for refractive index measurement and illustrates the variation in refractive index of a typical solid over the visible wavelength region.

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  • Received: August 03, 2009

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