Kerr constant-dispersion measurements on cyclohexane

Abstract

Le Fbre and Solomons recorded the Kerr constants B_γ of carbon tetrachloride and benzene over the wavelength range 375-625 nm to make possible the use of these solvents in examining the anisotropic polarizabilities of coloured solutes. Since, however, unsuspected hydrogen bondings may occur between π-electrons of benzene and protons from a dissolved molecule, and/or because of the various risks of chemical changes when basic substances are studied in carbon tetrachloride, an additional and more inert medium became desirable. Cyclohexane seemed to be the least reactive of the liquids which are available in quantity and easily purified, but no information on the variation of its B constant with wavelength was in the literature; the present measurements were therefore made to fill this gap.