UV/vis
Getting started
1. The typical range of a UV-vis spectrophotometer is 195 nm to 900 nm. What is this range in Hertz?
2. There are three peaks in the UV-vis spectrum of di-2-pyridyl ketone (DPK) with λ max values of 238 nm,
270 nm and 354 nm.
a. Calculate the energy gap (in Joules) associated with each of these transitions
b. Calculate the frequency (in Hz) of the photon absorbed for each of these transitions
3. What is the transmittance (in %) for the following absorbances?
a. 1.5
b. 0.2
c. 0.01
4. Cytosine has a molar extinction coefficient of 6x103 M-1cm-1 at 270 nm at pH 7. Calculate the
absorbance and percent transmission of 1x10-4 and 1x10-3 M cytosine solution in a 1-mm cell.
Expected level
5. Red 40
Red 40 is a food coloring that is often used to give sports drinks and candy in the US their attractive
color. In the EU the use of this food coloring is strictly regulated and food containing it should come
with a warning. As the name suggest the color of food in which Red 40 is used is red.
a. What color light does it absorb?
b. In what wavelength range do you expect the absorbance?
6. If a sample for UV-vis spectrometric analysis is placed in a 0.1 cm curvet instead of a 1 cm curvet, the
absorbance will be 10 times as small. Will the absorbance of the blank sample also be 10 times as
small?
7. A solution of an unknown chemical is placed in a cuvet (1.00 cm long). At 310 nm 30.2 percent of the
light is transmitted. The concentration is 0.125 mmol dm-3. What is the molar absorption coefficient?
8. Using a 2 mm cell, a calibration curve for Br2 in carbon tetrachloride is made. Find the molar absorption
coefficient at the wavelength employed.
[Br2] (mol/L) 0.0010 0.0050 0.0100 0.0500
T (percent) 81.4 35.6 12.7 0.00030
9. When you are diving in the sea you enter a gloomy world, which gets darker the deeper you go.
a. Given that the mean molar extinction coefficient of seawater in the visible region is 6.2 x 10-3
L mol-1 cm-1, calculate at which depth you will experience only half the light intensity at the
surface.
b. Not all wavelengths are absorbed equally by the seawater, argue how the fact that only the
top layer of the sea is warm and the fact that at depths of around 40 meters you only see
blue are related.
10. Both structures below absorb in the UV range, which of the 2 would absorb at the higher wavelength?
11. The following are all dyes. Dyes are classified into classes of chromophores, which define the way the
molecules absorb light. The classes in these example are azo dyes, quinones, anthocyanin and
porphyrins. Can you cycle the main chromophore (part of the molecule which defines its class) and
give the class of the chromophore)? The maximum wavelength of absorption is given, what is the color
of the dye?
Challenges
12. Photochromic Molecular Switches
Photochromic switches are molecules that can be switched reversibly between two isomers, A and B, by
irradiation with light. They are called photochromic because each isomer has a different color. The
photochromic switch represented below belongs to the spiropyran series.
a. Which spectrum corresponds to the closed form of the spiropyran and which one
corresponds to its open form?
b. What wavelength of irradiation would you use in order to promote the conversion of A to B?
c. What wavelength of irradiation would you use in order to promote the conversion of B to A?
13. Below you see three forms of the pH indicator phenolphthalein. Can you identify which ones are
colorless and which one gives a pink color?
Can you also identify which structure correspond to which pH range? Below 8.2, 10-12.5 and above
12.5
14. Build your own photometer
A photometer is a spectrometer that is designed to only look at one or a few wavelengths. It is
possible to make your own photometer with an LED and a photodiode. Let’s have a look at some of
the data from students at the University of British Columbia who build one1.
Emission profile of two types of LED Absorption spectra for Bromocresol
green for the conjugated acid and
base.
a. Which LED should you use to get the greatest
sensitivity for the compound with the solid line in
the absorption spectrum?
b. Look at the following titration as followed using
this photometer, which of the lines (dashed or
solid) corresponds to the conjugated base of
bromocresol green?
1
Reprinted with permission from Jessie J. Wang, José R. Rodríguez Núñez, E. Jane Maxwell, and W. Russ Algar
Journal of Chemical Education 2016 93 (1), 166-171. Copyright 2016 American Chemical Society.
