Refractometers measure the refraction of light to determine the index of refraction of a material. A handheld refractometer (HHR) is an easy to use, easy to calibrate, inexpensive (approximately $20) instrument that has found uses in many industries (veterinary, brewing, automobile, aquarium, viticulture, and food safety) for measuring solutions. We present four applications of two different HHRs–one for which the scale reads directly in refractive index from 1.333 to 1.360 and one for which the scale reads from 0 to 80 °Brix corresponding to refractive indices from 1.333 to 1.491–that can be incorporated into the chemistry lab curriculum at levels that include high school-level through advanced undergraduate-level chemistry labs. In addition, a significant majority of this work was completed at home during the pandemic. As such, this work can also be incorporated into online chemistry labs.

At home research during the pandemic: Applications of handheld refractometers for chemistry labs

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.