The linearity of the Beer-Lambert law is limited by chemical and
instrumental factors. Causes of nonlinearity include:
- deviations in absorptivity coefficients at high
concentrations (>0.01M) due to electrostatic
interactions between molecules in close proximity
- scattering of light due to particulates in the
sample
- fluoresecence or phosphorescence of the
sample
- changes in refractive index at high analyte concentration
- shifts in chemical equilibria as a function of
concentration
- non-monochromatic radiation, deviations can be minimized by
using a relatively flat part of the absorption spectrum such as the
maximum of an absorption band
- stray light