The Beer-Lambert Law states that the absorbance of light by a medium is directly proportional to its concentration as well as path length (the distance travelled by the light).
The law can be expressed mathematically as:
A = ϵcl = log( I0/I)
Where:
A = Absorbance (measure of the amount of light absorbed).
· I0 = Intensity of incident Light
· I = Intensity of transmitted Light
· ϵ = Molar absorptivity Constant
· c = the concentration of the solute
· l = the path length of the sample (the distance light travels through the solution)
Units:
· A = unitless
· ϵ = cm2/mol
· c = mol/L
· l = cm
Molar absorptivity Constant (ϵ) --- A constant that indicates how strongly a substance absorbs light at a particular wavelength. It is characteristic of a substance and is independent of change in its concentration and path length.
Significance of Molar absorptivity Constant (ϵ) --- It helps to predict the probability of electronic transitions
Value of ϵ higher than 104 --- Allowed Transitions
Value of ϵ lower than 104 --- Forbidden Transitions
· Applications of Beer-Lambert Law: it is used for quantification of concentration of various solutes/analytes in analytical chemistry, biochemistry, and also the environmental science.
Limitations of Beer-Lambert Law: The law holds true only for very dilute solutions and also for homogeneous solutions
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