Measurement of wavelength-dependent refractive indices of liquid scintillation cocktails

Refractive indices of several commercial liquid scintillation cocktails were measured by means of an automatic critical-angle dispersion refractometer in the wavelength range from 404.7 nm to 706.5 nm. The results are needed for various applications. In particular, detailed Monte Carlo simulations of liquid scintillation counters that include the computation of optical light require these data. In addition, the refractive index is an important parameter for studies of micelle sizes by means of dynamic light scattering. In this work, the refractive indices were determined for Ultima Gold™, Ultima Gold™ F, Ultima Gold™ LLT, Ultima Gold™ AB, Hionic Fluor™, Permafluor®E+, Mineral Oil Scintillator, Insta-Gel Plus, OptiPhase HiSafe 2, OptiPhase HiSafe 3, Ultima Gold™ XR, Insta-Gel Plus, AquaLight, MaxiLight and Ultima Gold™ MV at 16 °C, 18 °C, 20 °C and 22 °C. The carbon dioxide absorber Carbo-Sorb®E was also analyzed. For some scintillators, various batches were compared and mixtures with water or nitromethane were studied. - Highlights: • Refractive indices of several liquid scintillation cocktails were measured. • The wavelengths cover a range from 404.7 nm to 706.5 nm. • Measurements were carried out at 16 °C, 18 °C, 20 °C and 22 °C. • For some cocktails, mixtures with water or nitromethane were studied