Molar absorptivity

The molar attenuation coefficient is a measurement of how strongly a chemical species attenuates light at a given wavelength. It is an intrinsic property of the species. The SI unit of molar attenuation coefficient is the square metre per mole (m2/mol), but in practice, it is usually taken as the M−1⋅cm−1 or the L⋅mol−1⋅cm−1. In older literature, the cm2/mol is sometimes used with corresponding values 1,000 times larger. In practice these units are the same, with the difference being expression of volume in either cm3 or in L. The molar attenuation coefficient is also known as the molar extinction coefficient and molar absorptivity, but the use of these alternative terms has been discouraged by the IUPAC. The molar attenuation coefficient is a measurement of how strongly a chemical species attenuates light at a given wavelength. It is an intrinsic property of the species. The SI unit of molar attenuation coefficient is the square metre per mole (m2/mol), but in practice, it is usually taken as the M−1⋅cm−1 or the L⋅mol−1⋅cm−1. In older literature, the cm2/mol is sometimes used with corresponding values 1,000 times larger. In practice these units are the same, with the difference being expression of volume in either cm3 or in L. The molar attenuation coefficient is also known as the molar extinction coefficient and molar absorptivity, but the use of these alternative terms has been discouraged by the IUPAC. The absorbance of a material that has only one attenuating species also depends on the pathlength and the concentration of the species, according to the Beer–Lambert law