Optical and thermal properties of liquids measured by means of an open photoacoustic cell

A double-purpose open photoacoustic cell, suitable for optical and thermal characterization of liquid samples is described. An experimental method for the determination of very low concentrations of contaminants in liquid sub stances is proposed. The proposed technique was used to determine the conce ntration of Chromium (VI) in water via the measurement of its optical absor ption coefficient. To test the suitability of the proposed technique for ex perimental determination of thermal properties of liquids, studies on ethan ol were performed. The agreement between experimentally obtained thermal pr operties and values reported in the literature is good.