Polarimetry
- Page ID
- 4132
In measuring optical rotation, plane-polarized light travels down a long tube containing the sample. If it is a liquid, the sample may be placed in the tube as a pure liquid (its is sometimes called a neat sample). Usually, the sample is dissolved in a solvent and the resulting solution is placed in the tube. There are important factors affecting the outcome of the experiment.
- Optical rotation depends on the number of molecules encountered by the light during the experiment.
- Two factors can be controlled in the experiment and must be accounted for when comparing an experimental result to a reported value.

- The more concentrated the sample (the more molecules per unit volume), the more molecules will be encountered.
- Concentrated solutions and neat samples will have higher optical rotations than dilute solutions.
- The value of the optical rotation must be corrected for concentration.

- The longer the path of light through a solution of molecules, the more molecules will be encountered by the light, and the greater the optical rotation.
- The value of the optical rotation must be corrected for the length of the cell used to hold the sample.
Summary
\[[\alpha] = \dfrac{\alpha}{c l} \nonumber \]
- \(\alpha\) is the measured optical rotation.
- \(c\) is the sample concentration in grams per deciliter (1 dL = 10 mL), that is, c = m / V (m = mass in g, V = volume in dL).
- \(l\) is the cell length in decimeters (1 dm = 10 cm = 100 mm)
- The square brackets mean the optical rotation has been corrected for these variables.
A pure sample of the naturally-occurring, chiral compound A (0.250 g) is dissolved in acetone (2.0 mL) and the solution is placed in a 0.5 dm cell. Three polarimetry readings are recorded with the sample: 0.775o, 0.806o, 0.682o.
- What is [a]?
- What would be the [a] value of the opposite enantiomer?
- Answer
-
TBA
Problem SC7.2.
A pure sample of the (+) enantiomer of compound B shows [a] = 32o. What would be the observed a if a solution of the sample was made by dissolving 0.150 g in 1.0 mL of dichloromethane and was then placed in a 0.5 dm cell?
- Answer
-
TBA
Contributors and Attributions
Chris P Schaller, Ph.D., (College of Saint Benedict / Saint John's University)
Problem SC7.1.