Temperature plays an important role, especially during an analysis series. Each solution has a specific coefficient of thermal expansion. The coefficient is defined as such:
V = V0 ∙ (1 + γ ∙ ∆T)
Where V corresponds to the volume at a certain temperature, V0 to the nominal volume, γ to the coefficient of thermal expansion (in 10-3K-1), and ∆T corresponds to the temperature difference between the temperature of the nominal volume (V0) and the measured temperature (in K).
Depending on the thermal expansion coefficient (γ), keeping the temperature of the solution constant could be a critical point. For example, n-hexane has a coefficient of 1.35. Assuming the solution is 1.000 L at 20 °C and the ambient surroundings are 25 °C, the volume of the solution is 1.007 L at this temperature. This corresponds to an error of 0.7%.
Therefore, the coefficient of thermal expansion for a solution may be an important enough factor to regulate the temperature in the laboratory to obtain reproducible results.