Calibration Curve in Spectrophotometry
Introduction
Spectrophotometry is a technique used to measure the amount of a substance in a sample by measuring the absorption of light at specific wavelengths. A calibration curve is a graph that plots the absorbance of a known concentration of a substance against the concentration of the substance.
Basic Concepts
- Absorbance is a measure of the amount of light that is absorbed by a sample.
- Beer's Law states that the absorbance of a solution is directly proportional to the concentration of the solute and the path length of the light beam through the solution.
Equipment and Techniques
A spectrophotometer is an instrument that measures the absorbance of light. Spectrophotometers can be single-beam or double-beam. Single-beam spectrophotometers measure the absorbance of a sample against a reference solution, while double-beam spectrophotometers measure the absorbance of a sample against a blank.
The following steps are involved in creating a calibration curve:
- Prepare a series of solutions with known concentrations of the substance of interest.
- Measure the absorbance of each solution at the desired wavelength.
- Plot the absorbance values against the corresponding concentrations.
Types of Experiments
There are two main types of calibration curve experiments:
- Single-point calibration: In this type of experiment, only one known concentration of the substance of interest is used to create the calibration curve.
- Multi-point calibration: In this type of experiment, multiple known concentrations of the substance of interest are used to create the calibration curve.
Data Analysis
The data from a calibration curve experiment can be used to determine the concentration of an unknown sample of the substance of interest.
To do this, the following steps are followed:
- Measure the absorbance of the unknown sample at the desired wavelength.
- Use the calibration curve to determine the concentration of the substance of interest in the unknown sample.
Applications
Calibration curves are used in a variety of applications, including:
- Quantitative analysis: Calibration curves can be used to determine the concentration of a substance in a sample.
- Qualitative analysis: Calibration curves can be used to identify a substance by comparing its absorption spectrum to known spectra.
Conclusion
Calibration curves are a valuable tool for chemists. They can be used to determine the concentration of a substance in a sample, and they can also be used to identify a substance by comparing its absorption spectrum to known spectra.