Accurate prediction of refractive index of inorganic oxides by chemical formula

A method is proposed for estimation of mean refractive index of a complex inorganic oxide whose chemical composition is known. This method is based on using mean refractive indices of simple oxides. Applicability of the method has been tested for a representative set of ∼120 known oxide crystals. It has been shown that mean refractive index can be predicted with possible error of 0–15% depending on the chemical nature of the compound. The majority of oxides show acceptable difference <5% between theoretical and experimental refractive index values and the mean error level for a set of 124 oxide crystals is as low as ∼5%. Refractive indices of a set of simple oxides are estimated by the Lorenz–Lorentz relation. Full table of refractive indices of simple oxides for all elements of Periodic Table is proposed.