Reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics calculation of the Soret coefficient in liquid heptane/benzene mixtures

We studied the thermal diffusion behavior of mixtures of benzene and heptane isomers by reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics. For n-heptane/benzene mixtures, we investigated the concentration dependence of the Soret coefficient. The Soret coefficient for equimolar mixtures of the three heptane isomers 3-methylhexane, 2,3-dimethylpentane, and 2,4-dimethylpentane in benzene has been calculated. Compared to the experimental data, the simulation results show the same trend in dependence of the mole fraction and degree of branching. The negative Soret coefficient indicates the enrichment of alkanes in the warm side. In the case of the heptane isomers in benzene, we could study the influence of the difference in shape and size on the thermal diffusion behavior at constant mass. In the simulation as well as in the experiment, we found that the Soret coefficients become higher with increasing degree of branching. Such behavior cannot be explained only by mass and size effects. The effect of the molecular shape needs to be considered additionally.     

Selective methylative homologation: an alternate route to alkane upgrading

InI3 catalyzes the reaction of branched alkanes with methanol to produce heavier and more highly branched alkanes, which are more valuable fuels. The reaction of 2,3-dimethylbutane with methanol in the presence of InI3 at 180-200 degrees C affords the maximally branched C7 alkane, 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (triptane). With the addition of catalytic amounts of adamantane the selectivity of this transformation can be increased up to 60%. The lighter branched alkanes isobutane and isopentane also react with methanol to generate triptane, while 2-methylpentane is converted into 2,3-dimethylpentane and other more highly branched species. Observations implicate a chain mechanism in which InI3 activates branched alkanes to produce tertiary carbocations which are in equilibrium with olefins. The latter react with a methylating species generated from methanol and InI3 to give the next-higher carbocation, which accepts a hydride from the starting alkane to form the homologated alkane and regenerate the original carbocation. Adamantane functions as a hydride transfer agent and thus helps to minimize competing side reactions, such as isomerization and cracking, that are detrimental to selectivity.     

Vibrational analysis of some trimethylalkanes

Liquid and solid-state infrared spectra were obtained for 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, 2,2,3-trimethylpentane, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane and 2,3,3-trimethylpentane, and were interpreted with the aid of normal coordinate calculations. Trimethylbutane, 2,2,3-trimethylpentane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane each exist as only one conformer, but either two or three conformers of 2,3,3-trimethylpentane are present in the liquid state. Only one conformer is present in the crystalline solid, and it was identified as one with only four of the five chain carbons coplanar. The average error for 246 calculated frequencies assigned to observed values for the six molecules is 5.2 cm⁻¹, or 0.59%     

Molecular and thermal diffusion coefficients of alkane-alkane and alkane-aromatic binary mixtures: effect of shape and size of molecules

New molecular and thermal diffusion coefficients of binary mixtures of normal decane-normal alkanes and methylnaphthalene-normal alkanes are measured at atmospheric pressure and T = 25 degrees C. The normal alkanes used in this work include nC5-nC20. Thermal diffusion coefficients were measured in a thermogravitational column. Molecular diffusion coefficients were measured using an open-ended capillary tube technique. Results show a significant effect of molecular shape and size on thermal and molecular diffusion coefficients. Molecular diffusion coefficients show a monotonic behavior in both aromatic-normal alkane and normal decane-normal alkane mixtures. Thermal diffusion coefficients reveal a nonmonotonic trend with molecular size in the normal decane-normal alkane mixtures. This is the first report of the nonmonotonic behavior in the literature. The data presented in this paper provide an accurate self-molecular diffusion coefficient for nC10 from binary data.     

Radiation-induced synthesis of branched liquid alkanes

The irradiation of gaseous alkane mixtures under circulation conditions was used for the synthesis of liquid branched hydrocarbons. It was found that the synthesized liquid product was a mixture of alkanes with the average molecular weight higher than the molecular weight of the parent gas by a factor of 3–4. The resulting liquids were characterized by boiling range from 35 to 200°C in atmospheric distillation. The average degree of molecular branching in the synthesized liquids was evaluated on the basis of their knock resistance. The octane ratings of liquid mixtures were above 95 (motor octane number) or 103 (research octane number). The fractional composition and detonation properties of the synthesized liquids suggested the prevalence of C₅–C₁₁ isomers with highly branched structures in these liquids. Depending on irradiation conditions, 2,3-dimethylbutane, 2-methylpentane, or 3-methylpentane was predominant among hexanes. As a rule, 2,2,3-trimethylbutane and 2,3-dimethylpentane prevailed among heptanes.     

Measurements of molecular and thermal diffusion coefficients in ternary mixtures

Thermal diffusion coefficients in three ternary mixtures are measured in a thermogravitational column. One of the mixtures consists of one normal alkane and two aromatics (dodecane-isobutylbenzene-tetrahydronaphthalene), and the other two consist of two normal alkanes and one aromatic (octane-decane-1-methylnaphthalene). This is the first report of measured thermal diffusion coefficients (for all species) of a ternary nonelectrolyte mixture in literature. The results in ternary mixtures of octane-decane-1-methylnaphthalene show a sign change of the thermal diffusion coefficient for decane as the composition changes, despite the fact that the two normal alkanes are similar. In addition to thermal diffusion coefficients, molecular diffusion coefficients are also measured for three binaries and one of the ternary mixtures. The open-end capillary-tube method was used in the measurement of molecular diffusion coefficients. The molecular and thermal diffusion coefficients allow the estimation of thermal diffusion factors in binary and ternary mixtures. However, in the ternaries one also has to calculate phenomenological coefficients from the molecular diffusion coefficients. A comparison of the binary and ternary thermal diffusion factors for the mixtures comprised of octane-decane-1-methylnaphthalene reveals a remarkable difference in the thermal diffusion behavior in binary and ternary mixtures.     

Kinetics of the reaction of oh radicals with a series of branched alkanes at 297 ± 2 K

Relative rate constants for the reaction of OH radicals with a series of branched alkanes have been determined at 297 ± 2 K, using methyl nitrite photolysis in air as a source of OH radicals. Using a rate constant for the reaction of OH radicals with n-butane of 2.58 × 10^?12 cm³/molecule · s, the rate constants obtained are (× 10¹² cm³/molecule · s): isobutane, 2.29 ± 0.06; 2-methylbutane, 3.97 ± 0.11; 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2.66 ± 0.08; 2-methylpentane, 5.68 ± 0.24; 3-methylpentane, 5.78 ± 0.11; 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, 4.21 ± 0.08; 2,4-dimethylpentane, 5.26 ± 0.11; methylcyclohexane, 10.6 ± 0.3; 2,2,3,3-tetramethylbutane, 1.06 ± 0.08; and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, 3.66 ± 0.16. Rate constants for 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2,4-dimethylpentane, and methylclohexane have been determined for the first time, while those for the other branched alkanes are in generally good agreement with the literature data. Primary, secondary, and tertiary group rate constants at room temperature have been derived from these and previous data for alkanes and unstrained cycloalkanes, with the secondary and tertiary group rate constants depending in a systematic manner on the identity of the neighboring groups. The use of these group rate constants, together with a previous determination of the effect of ring strain energy on the OH radical rate constants for a series of cycloalkanes, allows the a priori estimation of OH radical rate constants for alkanes and cycloalkanes at room temperature.     

The Complexing Abilities of Diethyleneoxy-and Xylene-bridged Cryptophanes with Alkanes

Abstract

The Syn isomers (3b and 4b) of xylene-bridged cryptophane showed selective complexing abilities for 2,2-dimethylbutane, 3-methylpentane, 3,3-di-methylpentane and 3-ethylpentane among the investigated alkanes, although the Anti isomers (3a,4a,5a) did not complex with these alkanes. However, both the Anti-and Syn-isomers (2a and 2b) of the diethyleneoxy-bridged cryptophane showed selective complexing abilities for 2,2-dimethylbutane, 3,3-dimethylpentane, 2,2,3-trimethylbutane and 2,2,3,3-terramethybutane among the investigated alkanes.     

Radical cations of branched alkanes as observed in irradiated solutions by the method of time-resolved magnetic field effect

Spin dynamics in radical ion pairs formed under ionizing irradiation of n-hexane solutions of two branched alkanes 2,3-dimethylbutane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane has been studied by the method of time-resolved magnetic field effect in recombination fluorescence. Experimental curves of the magnetic field effect are satisfactorily described by assuming that the spin dynamics is determined by the hyperfine interactions in the radical cation (RC) of branched alkane under study with hyperfine coupling (HFC) constants averaged by internal rotations of RC fragments. The HFC constants determined from the magnetic field effect curves are close to those estimated within DFT B3LYP approach. Analysis of the results indicates that at room temperature the lifetimes of the RC of the studied branched alkanes amount to, at least, tens of nanoseconds.     

Observation of a one-dimensional adsorption site on carbon nanotubes: adsorption of alkanes of different molecular lengths

Three well-defined adsorption sites have been found on opened single-wall carbon nanotubes by temperature-programmed desorption measurements for several alkanes. A series of linear chain alkanes from pentane to nonane, as well as a branched alkane molecule, 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, were used to elucidate the effect of molecular length on the capacity of the adsorption sites. The two highest-energy adsorption sites were assigned as the nanotube interior sites and groove sites on the outside of the nanotube bundles. Hybrid Monte Carlo simulations were performed to probe the molecular-level details of adsorption. Both in experiments and in the simulation, the groove sites were seen to behave as one-dimensional adsorption space, demonstrating an inverse dependence of capacity on the length of the adsorbed molecule. In contrast, the capacity of the internal sites was found to depend inversely on the volume occupied by the molecule.     

Sign change of the Soret coefficient of poly(ethylene oxide) in water/ethanol mixtures observed by thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering

Soret coefficients of the ternary system of poly(ethylene oxide) in mixed water/ethanol solvent were measured over a wide solvent composition range by means of thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering. The Soret coefficient S(T) of the polymer was found to change sign as the water content of the solvent increases with the sign change taking place at a water mass fraction of 0.83 at a temperature of 22 degrees C. For high water concentrations, the value of S(T) of poly(ethylene oxide) is positive, i.e., the polymer migrates to the cooler regions of the fluid, as is typical for polymers in good solvents. For low water content, on the other hand, the Soret coefficient of the polymer is negative, i.e., the polymer migrates to the warmer regions of the fluid. Measurements for two different polymer concentrations showed a larger magnitude of the Soret coefficient for the smaller polymer concentration. The temperature dependence of the Soret coefficient was investigated for water-rich polymer solutions and revealed a sign change from negative to positive as the temperature is increased. Thermodiffusion experiments were also performed on the binary mixture water/ethanol. For the binary mixtures, the Soret coefficient of water was observed to change sign at a water mass fraction of 0.71. This is in agreement with experimental results from the literature. Our results show that specific interactions (hydrogen bonds) between solvent molecules and between polymer and solvent molecules play an important role in thermodiffusion for this system.     

Excess enthalpies of binary mixtures of 1-hexene with some branched alkanes at the temperature 298.15 K

Measurements of excess molar enthalpies at the temperature 298.15 K in a flow microcalorimeter are reported for the five binary mixtures formed by mixing 1-hexene with the branched alkanes: 2-methylpentane, 3-methylpentane, 2,2-dimethylbutane, 2,3-dimethylbutane, and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane. Smooth Redlich–Kister representations of the results are described. It was found that the Liebermann–Fried model also provided good representations of the results.     

New thermal diffusion coefficient measurements for hydrocarbon binary mixtures: viscosity and composition dependency

New thermal diffusion coefficients of binary mixtures are measured for n-decane-n-alkanes and 1-methylnaphthalene-n-alkanes with 25 and 75 wt % at 25 degrees C and 1 atm using the thermogravitational column technique. The alkanes range from n-pentane to n-eicosane. The new results confirm the recently observed nonmonotonic behavior of thermal diffusion coefficients with molecular weight for binary mixtures of n-decane- n-alkanes at the compositions studied. In this work, the mobility and disparity effects on thermal diffusion coefficients are quantified for binary mixtures. We also show for the binary mixtures studied that the thermal diffusion coefficients and mixture viscosity, both nonequilibrium properties, are closely related.     

Reverse nonequilibrium molecular-dynamics calculation of the Soret coefficient in liquid benzene/cyclohexane mixtures

Reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics is the method applied here for the investigation of thermal diffusion in realistic molecular fluids. The Soret coefficients of benzene/cyclohexane mixtures are calculated using an all-atom model. The autocorrelation functions indicate that the mole fraction gradient converges much slower than the temperature gradient. Compared to experimental data, the results show the same tendency of the Soret coefficient variation versus the mole fraction. Although a systematic error exists for the magnitude of the Soret coefficient, a meanwhile systematic error for both the mutual diffusion and thermal diffusion coefficients provides some explanation of it; and the calculation with different force field parameters indicates a possibility to annihilate the systematic error. The influences of algorithm variables such as cutoff lengths and perturbation intensities are tested. Furthermore the temperature dependence of the Soret effect is observed, yielding the same trend as previous studies.     

Systematic study of the thermal diffusion in associated mixtures

We performed systematic temperature and concentration dependent measurements of the Soret coefficient in different associated binary mixtures of water, deuterated water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), methanol, ethanol, acetone, methanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and propionaldehyde using the so-called thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering method. For some of the associating binary mixtures such as ethanol/water, acetone/water, and DMSO/water, the concentration xw+/- at which the Soret coefficient changes its sign does not depend on temperature and is equal to the concentration xw x where the Soret coefficient isotherms intersect. For others such as 1-propanol/water, 2-propanol/water, and ethanol/DMSO, the sign change concentration is temperature dependent, which is the typical behavior observed for nonassociating mixtures. For systems with xw+/-=xw x, we found that xw+/- depends linearly on the ratio of the vaporization enthalpies of the pure components. Probably due to the similarity of methanol and DMSO, we do not observe a sign change for this mixture. The obtained results are related to structural changes in the fluid observed by nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometric, and x-ray experiments in the literature. Furthermore, we discuss the influence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions and the solubility on thermal diffusion behavior.     

Thermal diffusion and molecular diffusion values for some alkane mixtures: a comparison between thermogravitational column and thermal diffusion forced rayleigh scattering

In the present work we studied the thermal diffusion behavior of n-decane in various alkanes by thermogravitational column (TC) technique and the thermal diffusion forced Rayleigh scattering (TDFRS) method. The investigated lighter alkanes compared to n-decane are n-pentane, n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, and the heavier ones are n-tetradecane, n-pentadecane, n-hexadecane, n-heptadecane, n-octadecane, and n-eicosane. The binary mixture n-decane/ n-pentane we investigated at several different concentrations; all other mixtures were only investigated at a mass fraction of 50%. Even for the volatile n-pentane/ n-decane mixture the deviations between the thermal diffusion coefficients determined by the different methods agreed within the error bars. Typically the agreement between the two methods was in the order of 5%. In comparison to recently published TC and TDFRS data we found deviations in the order of 30% up to 40%. We analyze and discuss the possible reasons for the discrepancies for the present and the past publications.     

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of alkanes with Cl atoms at 296 ± 2 K

Rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of the Cl atom with a series of alkanes have been determined at 296 ± 2 K using a relative rate method. Using a rate constant for the Cl atom reaction with n-butane of 1.94 × 10^?10 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1, the rate constants obtained (in units of 10^?11 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1) were: 2-methylpentane, 25.0 ± 0.8; 3-methylpentane, 24.8 ± 0.6; cyclohexane, 30.8 ± 1.2; cyclohexane-d₁₂, 25.6 ± 0.8; 2,4-dimethylpentane, 25.6 ± 1.2; 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, 17.9 ± 0.7; methylcyclohexane, 34.7 ± 1.2; n-octane, 40.5 ± 1.2; 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, 23.1 ± 0.8; 2,2,3,3-tetramethylbutane, 15.6 ± 0.9; n-nonane, 42.9 ± 1.2; n-decane, 48.7 ± 1.8; and cis-bicyclo[4.4.0]decane, 43.1 ± 0.8, where the indicated errors are two least-squares standard deviations and do not include the uncertainties in the n-butane rate constant. These data have been combined with rate constants obtained previously for ten C₂? C₇ alkanes and this entire data set has been used to develop an estimation method allowing the room temperature rate constants for the reactions of the Cl atom with alkanes to be calculated. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Excess enthalpies of the liquid systems: 1,2-dichloroethane + n-alkanes or +2,2,4-trimethylpentane

Hahn, G. Svejda, P. and Kehiaian, H.V., 1986. Excess enthalpies of the liquid systems: 1,2-dichloroethane + n-alkanes or +2,2,4-trimethylpentane. Fluid Phase Equilibria, 28: 309-323.Molar excess enthalpies, h^E, at 293.15 K and atmospheric pressure are reported for the binary liquid mixtures of 1,2-dichloroethane + haptane, + decane, + dodecane, + tetradecane, + hexadecane or + 2,2,4-trimethylpentane, all determined by means of a flow microcalorimeter of the Picker-type. These measurements could be reproduced within the experimental limits by calculations according to a quasi-chemical group contribution theory, using constant values for two interchange energy coefficients, C_1,ad (Gibbs energy) and C_2,ad (enthalpy). Fair agreement between the calculated excess heat capacities, e^E_p, and the experimental literature values could be obtained by adjusting a third coefficient, C_3,ad (heat capacity). However, C_3,ad decreases with increasing chain length of the n-alkane. Even with three C_1,ad coefficients the model cannot reproduce the exact shape of the c^E_p versus composition curves. Apparently, not only the terms of an interchange of group surface contacts, but also conformational changes occurring in n-alkanes on mixing, contribute to the excess functions. The set of C_1,ad coefficients reported in this paper should prove useful in predicting phase equilibria in liquid 1,2-dichloroethane + n-alkane mixtures.     

The Soret effect in dilute polymer solutions: influence of chain length, chain stiffness, and solvent quality

Thermal diffusion in dilute polymer solutions is studied by reverse nonequilibrium molecular dynamics. The polymers are represented by a generic bead-spring model. The influence of the solvent quality on the Soret coefficient is investigated. At constant temperature and monomer fraction, a better solvent quality causes a higher affinity for the polymer to the cold region. This may even go to thermal-diffusion-induced phase separation. The sign of the Soret coefficient changes in a symmetric nonideal binary Lennard-Jones solution when the solvent quality switches from good to poor. The known independence of the thermal diffusion coefficients of the molecular weight is reproduced for three groups of polymers with different chain stiffnesses. The thermal diffusion coefficients reach constant values at chain lengths of around two to three times the persistence length. Moreover, rigid polymers have higher Soret coefficients and thermal diffusion coefficients than more flexible polymers.     

Conversion of methanol to 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (triptane) over indium(III) iodide

InI3 is able to catalyze the conversion of methanol to a mixture of hydrocarbons at 200 degrees C with one highly branched alkane, 2,2,3-trimethylbutane (triptane), being obtained in high selectivity. The mechanism for InI3-catalyzed reactions appears to be basically the same as that proposed for the previously studied ZnI2-catalyzed system in which sequential methylation of olefins is followed by competing reactions of the resulting carbocation: proton loss to give the next olefin vs hydride transfer to give the corresponding alkane. Although the reaction conditions and typical triptane yields achievable with ZnI2 and InI3 are quite similar, the two systems behave rather differently in a number of important particulars, including significant differences between the detailed product distributions. Most of the differences in behavior can be ascribed to the stronger Lewis acidity of InI3, including the ability to activate some alkanes, the higher activity for methylation of arenes, and the fact that methanol conversion can be observed at somewhat lower temperatures with InI3 than with ZnI2.