The answer depends on the type of spectrophotometer. The most common UV-Visible instruments are set up to measure transmission without scattering, i.e. in optically clear phases. Infrared instruments and be either transmission or reflectance and solids are common;y used. There are also other possibilities. What exactly do you want to measure?
@ Faisal, I think it can measure the absorbance, reflectance, and transmission of light by gases, liquids, and solids. Actually spectrophotometer is a color measurement device that is used to capture and evaluate color on a wide array of materials including solids.
Thank you very much. I want to calculate the absorbance of the petals of the flowers of the cruciferous family by describing the leaves as a thin layer through which light penetrates using a spectrophotometer.
generally, UV-vis spectrophotometer is applicable to measure the absorbance/ transmittance of liquid (low concentration) solutions. but some of the models (one of them PerkinElmer) are also capable to analyze the solid samples. For a solid sample, additional accessories are required.