Cuvets and Cuvet Stands:

Cuvets are small rectangular plastic containers used for UV-vis spectroscopy. A solution is placed in the cuvet and the rectangle placed in the the spectrometer. It is important to be aware there are two kinds of cuvets.

The first type has a flat set of sides, and ribbed set of sides. The flat side should be the side which is placed in the path of the light source and detector.

The second type of cuvet has a narrow side and broad side. The broad side is the one to be placed in the path of the light source and the detector.

In the UV-vis spectra, any absorption peaks below 250 nm is a result of the absorption of the cuvet, and should be discarded. Cuvets should never be cleaned with acetone. It will cloud the plastic and make them useless.

Pictured also is the cuvet stand and the right. The cuvets fit in the square holes, which make it somewhat easier to carry the cuvets from place to place.

It is not necessary to fill the cuvets completely, but they only require being two thirds full in order to obtain spectra.