Refractive indices of common solvents and solutions at 1550 nm

• DOI: 10.1364/ao.55.000947
• Publication Date: 2016-02-01T16:11:04Z
• Authors: John E. Saunders; Connor Sanders; Hao Chen; Hans-Peter Loock
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 01 natural sciences; 3. Good health

Using a large-angle refractometer, the refractive indices of water, methanol, acetonitrile, acetone, ethanol, formaldehyde solution, 2-propanol, hexanes, 1-propanol, 2-butanol, tetrahydrofuran, dichloromethane, 1,4-dioxane, cyclohexane, N,N-dimethylformamide, ethylene glycol, N,N-dimethylacetamide, chloroform, glycerol, trichloroethylene, dimethylsulfoxide, p-xylene, ethylbenzene, toluene, m-xylene, benzene, and o-xylene were measured at 1550 nm and compared to literature values. In addition, the refractive indices of 48 aqueous sucrose solutions, 34 aqueous sodium chloride solutions, 40 DMSO-water, 40 ethylene glycol-water, and 40 glycerol-water mixtures were also measured at different concentrations and fit with third-order polynomial expressions. This study provides near-infrared refractive indices that were not previously available and may help with the calibration of refractive index sensors that operate at or near 1550 nm.