Compact optical cell system for vacuum ultraviolet absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy and its application to aqueous solution sample

We have designed a compact optical cell for studying the absorption and circular dichroism (CD) of a solution sample in the vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) region using a temperature control unit. The cell size was 34 mm in diameter and 14 mm in length. Such compactness was obtained by coating the VUV scintillator onto the outside of the back window. Because this scintillator converts the transmitted VUV light to visible light, the outside of this cell is operated under atmospheric pressure. The temperature of the sample solution was maintained in the range of 5°C to 80°C using a temperature control unit with a Peltier thermoelectric element. Changes in the sample temperature were observed by monitoring the absorption intensity of water. Through the study of VUV‐CD spectra of ammonium camphor‐10‐sulfonate aqueous solutions and the transmitted spectrum of an empty cell, it was concluded that this cell unit has sufficient performance for use in VUV spectroscopy. Chirality, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.