Spectrophotometry is an advanced technology used in laboratories to measure the amount of light absorbed by the chemical species present in a sample. This is a technique that is used to detect and quantify chemicals in many areas, including medicine, industrial production and environmental. Spectrophotometers can be used to detect the wavelength, intensity, and proportion of light that a particular chemical absorbs.
In addition, spectrophotometry is also used to detect any increase or decrease in the concentration of substances in a sample. A spectrophotometer uses a light source such as a color lamp or laser to illuminate the light sample. Light from this device passes through a sample cell containing the chemical sample.
The light that emerges from the cell is offset and reoriented by an optical system to enter a wavelength selector. The device separates light at specific wavelengths and collects and measures the intensity of each wavelength. This information is recorded on a graph to produce the so-called absorption spectrum, which is characteristic of that substance.
The usefulness of spectrophotometers in laboratories
Laboratories use spectrophotometers to detect specific chemicals. When a substance is illuminated with light, it absorbs ultraviolet, visible, and infrared rays. This energy is detected with a spectrophotometer, producing the absorption peaks, which are the absorbed light lines. These absorption peaks are substance-specific, which means that the identity of a chemical can thus be determined.
When performing a spectrophotometric measurement, the absorption peaks are measured. If you know the amount of light that is absorbed, then you can also calculate the amount of matter present in the sample. To measure the content of matter, the concept of concentration is used, which is the fraction of matter present in a given amount of liquid. Several methods are used to calculate the concentration, such as the absorbance method, the absorbent concentration method, and the molar concentration method.
Spectrophotometers are also used in the characterization of a chemical sample. This means that if a chemical sample is illuminated with light, a spectrophotometer can determine the chemical composition of the sample. Often, ultraviolet lamps are used to characterize a sample. This allows ultraviolet light to reach the lowest energy levels to produce the absorption peaks.
The importance of spectrophotometers in laboratories
Spectrophotometry is also used to quantify and identify specificity and purity of a sample. This measurement is known as infrared spectroscopy, which involves measuring the infrared rays that pass through the sample. This allows to determine the specific compounds present in the sample, as well as their purity. Purity is an important parameter as it determines and conditions the use of materials.
For all of the above reasons, spectrophotometers are an important part of any laboratory, where accurate measurements are made to detect specific chemicals. These devices are also widely used in the measurement of visible, ultraviolet, and red light, to detect and identify the chemical composition and purity of samples.
By using different measurements, such as matter content, absorbance, and infrared spectroscopy, spectrophotometers are of great help to health professionals, engineers, and scientists, who benefit from measuring the light absorbed by the samples. Additionally, the procedures are very sensitive, easy to apply, and instrumentation is not as expensive when compared to other analytical techniques such as mass spectrometry.
A look at Kalstein’s spectrometers
Kalstein has available spectrophotometers to measure liquid and solid samples, which are useful in quality control laboratories in different companies. Those used for the study of liquid samples, allow covering the range of ultraviolet to visible, and with single and double beam designs, and with the appropriate cells according to the length of radiation used. More information on pricing and purchasing can be found at HERE and HERE.
