In: Chemistry
why the refractive index is a good way to analyze the liquid?
One of the most common uses of the refractive index is to compare the value you obtain with values listed in the literature. This comparison is used to help confirm the identity of the compound and/or assess its purity. The refractive index depends on the temperature. Thus, it is best to obtain the refractive index of your sample at the same temperature as the value you plan to compare with; in most cases this will be 20 °C. For most organic liquids the index of refraction decreases by approximately 0.00045 ± 0.0001 for every 1 °C increase in temperature.
Determining the concentration of a solute in a solution is probably the most popular use of refractometry. For example, refractometer-based methods have been developed for determining the percentage of sugar in fruits, juices, and syrups, the percentage of alcohol in beer or wine, the salinity of water, and the concentration of antifreeze in radiator fluid. Many industries use refractometer-based methods in quality control applications. In most cases the refractive index is linearly (or nearly linearly) related to the percentage of dissolved solids in a solution. By comparing the value of the refractive index of a solution to that of a standard curve the concentration of solute can be determined with good accuracy. Many refractometers contain a "Brix" scale that is calibrated to give the percentage (w/w) of sucrose dissolved in water.
The refractive index does not provide detailed information about a molecule's structure, and it is not usually used for this purpose since spectroscopic techniques are much more powerful at revealing details of molecular structure. One structural factor that influences the refractive index of a sample is its polarizability. Substances containing more polarizable ("soft") groups (e.g., iodine atoms or aromatic rings) will normally have higher refractive indexes than substances containing less polarizable ("hard") groups (e.g., oxygen atoms or alkyl groups).