actinometer, in chemistry, a substance or a mixture of substances that reacts through the action of light and that, because of the easily determined quantitative relationship between the extent of the reaction and the energy of the absorbed light, is used as a standard for measurement of light energies involved in photochemical work.
A typical actinometer is a liquid solution of oxalic acid containing uranyl sulfate. Light in the wavelength range of about 2,080 to 4,350 angstroms (ultraviolet to violet light) decomposes the oxalic acid (through a complex process involving initial absorption of the light energy by the uranyl ion) into a mixture of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water. A standard solution is generally irradiated with light of the proper wavelength and of known intensity, and the quantity of oxalic acid decomposed is accurately measured by titration with potassium permanganate. The experimentally determined relationship between the quantity of oxalic acid transformed and the quantity of light energy absorbed can then be used as a scale from which to predict either quantity when the other is known or measured.
In addition to the oxalic acid–uranyl sulfate solution, other substances commonly used as chemical actinometers include acetone, hydrogen bromide, carbon dioxide, and a solution of ferrioxalate in sulfuric acid.