Dielectric relaxation behavior of aqueous solutions of carbobetaines with varying intercharge distances

The dielectric relaxation behavior of aqueous triethylammonioalkanoate (carbobetaine: Et(3)nCB) solutions was examined as a function of frequency from 1.00 x 10(6) to 2.00 x 10(10) Hz (6.28 x 10(6) to 1.26 x 10(11) rad s(-1) in angular frequency); number of intercharge methylene groups, n = 1, 3, 4, 5, and 10; and solute concentration, c. Two major relaxation modes, fast and slow, were found in all solutions examined. Et(3)nCB systems with n = 5 and 10 possessed another, medium, relaxation mode with relaxation time tau(Dh) at high c values (above the contact concentration of solutes) in addition to the fast and slow modes. The fast mode with a relaxation time, tau(w), of approximately 10 ps was attributed to the rotational motion of bulk water molecules. The slow mode with a relaxation time, tau, of 0.08-1 ns, depending on the n value, was attributed to the overall rotational motion of each carbobetaine in aqueous solution. The concentration normalized relaxation strength, Deltaepsilonc(-1), and tau value of the slow relaxation mode increased with increasing n. These findings were quantitatively explained on the basis of changes in the intercharge distance resulting in increased size and dipole moment of the carbobetaines. Above the contact concentration, collisions between solute molecules likely hindered their rotational motions, leading to an increase in tau. The middle relaxation mode found in longer Et(3)nCBs (n = 5 and 10) with a relaxation time, tau(Dh), of approximately 0.2 ns, more than 20 times as long as that of bulk water molecules, tau(w), was attributed to the dehydration of water molecules tightly bound to all Et(3)nCBs examined (including those with n < 5). This mode was not observed in the solutions of Et(3)nCBs with n < 5, since the tau values corresponding to overall rotation were close to or shorter than the tau(Dh) values.     

Sub-Tg relaxations due to dipolar solutes in nonpolar glass-forming solvents

It is well known that rigid dipolar solutes (in smaller quantity) dispersed in a nonpolar glassy matrix exhibit a sub-T(g) (or beta(s)) relaxation due to the solute often designated as Johari-Goldstein (JG) relaxation, which is intermolecular in nature. In this article, we report the results of our study of such a sub-T(g) process in a wide variety of dipolar solutes in different glassy systems using dielectric spectroscopy over a frequency range of 20-10(6) Hz down to a temperature of 77 K. The T(g) of these solutions are determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The solvents used in this study are o-terphenyl (OTP), isopropylbenzene (IPB), and methylcyclohexane. In the case of rigid molecular solutes, like mono-halogen benzenes, the activation energy (DeltaE(beta)) of the beta(s) process is found to increase with decreasing T(g) of the solvent, with a corresponding decrease in the magnitude of the beta(s) process. In the case of more symmetrical molecular solute, for example, tert-butylchloride, the change in DeltaE(beta) is not very appreciable. These results emphasize the importance of the size of the cage of the host matrix in the relaxation of the solute molecules. We have also studied the sub-T(g) relaxation(s) due to some flexible molecular solutes, viz., 1butylbromide, 1hexylbromide, 1butylacetate, and benzylacetate. These solutes in IPB matrix exhibit only one relaxation, whereas in OTP matrix they exhibit an additional sub-T(g) process, which may be identified with a JG type of relaxation. These observations lead us to the conclusion that the beta process observed in the glassy states of these pure solutes is predominantly intramolecular in nature.     

Dielectric Relaxation and Thermodynamic Studies of Binary Mixtures of 2-Nitrotoluene with Primary and Secondary Alcohols at Different Temperatures

The dielectric complex spectra of 2-nitrotoluene with primary or secondary alcohol binary mixtures were studied over the frequency range of 10 MHz to 20 GHz for the whole solute mole fraction range at four different temperatures. An unusual suppression phenomenon was observed in the real and imaginary parts of the mixture complex spectrum, which are smaller than those for the pure alcohols, at low solute concentrations. The dielectric constant and dielectric relaxation time values were obtained by fitting the complex dielectric spectrum data to the single Debye model using a non-linear least squares method. The dielectric constant of mixtures decrease with the increasing mole fraction of 2NT in both the primary alcohols and secondary alcohols; the dielectric relaxation time decreases for all the five binary systems. Using the dielectric data, derived dielectric parameters, namely: the excess dielectric constant, excess inverse relaxation time, effective Kirkwood correlation factor, molar activation enthalpy and molar activation entropy, were calculated. The non-linear variation of permittivity (?₀) reveals the change in size and shape of hetero-molecular complex due to intermolecular H-bond interaction. The negative variation of the excess permittivity constant confirms that the dipoles form multimer structures with anti-parallel ordering of unlike dipoles. The molar activation enthalpy was found to be higher at 0.2 mol fraction of 2NT for primary alcohol binary system. To confirm the molecular function group interaction, a FT-IR spectroscopy study was carried out at 298 K. The FT-IR analysis confirmed the formation of hydrogen bonds between the hydrogen atom of hydroxyl groups of the alcohols and the oxygen atom of nitro groups of 2NT in the binary mixtures.     

A dielectric study of 1-alcohol — tetraethyl orthosilicate mixtures

Dielectric properties of mixtures of 1-alcohols (ethanol, 1-butanol and 1-hexanol) and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) were determined by means of the time domain method (TDS). To all spectra were fitted a model function containing a sum of three debye relaxation terms with fixed ₂ and ₃. Initially, to 2–3 mole%, TEOS did not influence static permittivity nor main relaxation time of the alcohol. For higher concentrations there is a linear decrease in both these parameters. Qualitatively the effects of TEOS are comparable with those of a nonpolar hydrocarbon on the alcohol structure.     

The glass transition and dielectric secondary relaxation of fructose-water mixtures

Broad-band dielectric measurements for fructose-water mixtures with fructose concentrations between 70.0 and 94.6 wt% were carried out in the frequency range of 2 mHz to 20 GHz in the temperature range of -70 to 45 degrees C. Two relaxation processes, the alpha process at lower frequency and the secondary beta process at higher frequency, were observed. The dielectric relaxation time of the alpha process was 100 s at the glass transition temperature, T(g), determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The relaxation time and strength of the beta process changed from weaker temperature dependences of below T(g) to a stronger one above T(g). These changes in behaviors of the beta process in fructose-water mixtures upon crossing the T(g) of the mixtures is the same as that found for the secondary process of water in various other aqueous mixtures with hydrogen-bonding molecular liquids, polymers, and nanoporous systems. These results lead to the conclusion that the primary alpha process of fructose-water mixtures results from the cooperative motion of water and fructose molecules, and the secondary beta process is the Johari-Goldstein process of water in the mixture. At temperatures near and above T(g) where both the alpha and the beta processes were observed and their relaxation times, tau(alpha) and tau(beta), were determined in some mixtures, the ratio tau(alpha)/tau(beta) is in accord with that predicted by the coupling model. Fixing tau(alpha) at 100 s, the ratio tau(alpha)/tau(beta) decreases with decreasing concentration of fructose in the mixtures. This trend is also consistent with that expected by the coupling model from the decrease of the intermolecular coupling parameter upon decreasing fructose concentration.     

Theoretical studies of solute vibrational energy relaxation at liquid interfaces

Recent advances in the theoretical understanding of solute vibrational energy relaxation at liquid interfaces and surfaces are described. Non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of the relaxation of an initially excited solute molecule are combined with equilibrium force autocorrelation calculations to gain insight into the factors that influence the vibrational relaxation rate. Diatomic and triatomic nonpolar, polar, and ionic solute molecules adsorbed at the liquid/vapor interface of several liquids as well as at the water/CCl(4) liquid/liquid interface are considered. In general, the vibrational relaxation rate is significantly slower (a factor of 3 to 4) at the liquid/vapor and liquid/liquid interface than in the bulk due to the reduced density, which gives rise to a reduced contribution of the repulsive solvent-solute forces on the vibrational mode. The surface effects on the ionic solutes are much smaller (50% or less slower relaxation relative to the bulk). This is due to the fact that ionic solutes at the interface are able to keep part of their solvation shell to a degree that depends on their size. Thus, a significant portion of the repulsive forces is maintained. A high degree of correlation is found between the peak height of the solvent-solute radial distribution function and the vibrational relaxation rate. The relaxation rate at the liquid/liquid interface strongly depends on the location of the solute across the interface and correlates with the change in the density and polarity profile of the interface.     

Fluid-phase behavior of binary mixtures in which one component can have two critical points

We investigate theoretically the binary fluid-phase behavior of mixtures in which one water-like component can have two critical points. We consider three equal-sized nonpolar solutes that differ in the strength of their dispersive interactions (a1 < a2 < a3, where a denotes the van der Waals attractive parameter). In each case, we compare the phase behavior predicted using two sets of parameters for water: one giving rise to a pure component low-temperature liquid-liquid transition terminating at a critical point (two-critical-point parameter set), and one in which no such second critical point exists (singularity-free parameter set). Regardless of the parameter values used, we find five mixture critical lines. Using the two-critical-point parameter set, we find that a critical line originates at water's second critical point for aqueous mixtures involving solutes 1, 2, or 3. For mixtures involving solutes 1 or 2, this line extends towards low pressures and high temperatures as the solute mole fraction increases, and is closely related to the critical line originating at water's ordinary vapor-liquid critical point: these two critical lines are loci of upper and lower consolute points corresponding to the same liquid-liquid transition. In mixtures involving solute 2, the critical locus emanating from water's second critical point is shifted to higher temperatures compared to mixtures involving solute 1, and extends up to T approximately 310 K at moderate pressures (ca. 200 bars). This suggests the possibility of an experimentally accessible manifestation of the existence of a second critical point in water. For binary mixtures involving solutes 1 or 2, changing the water parameters from the two critical points to the singularity-free case causes the disappearance of a lower consolute point at moderate pressures. For binary mixtures involving solute 3, the differences between two-critical-point and singularity-free behaviors occur only in the experimentally difficult-to-probe low-temperature and high-pressure region.     

Solute rotational dynamics at the water liquid/vapor interface

The rotational dynamics of a number of diatomic molecules adsorbed at different locations at the interface between water and its own vapors are studied using classical molecular dynamics computer simulations. Both equilibrium orientational and energy correlations and nonequilibrium orientational and energy relaxation correlations are calculated. By varying the dipole moment of the molecule and its location, and by comparing the results with those in bulk water, the effects of dielectric and mechanical frictions on reorientation dynamics and on rotational energy relaxation can be studied. It is shown that for nonpolar and weekly polar solutes, the equilibrium orientational relaxation is much slower in the bulk than at the interface. As the solute becomes more polar, the rotation slows down and the surface and bulk dynamics become similar. The energy relaxation (both equilibrium and nonequilibrium) has the opposite trend with the solute dipole (larger dipoles relax faster), but here again the bulk and surface results converge as the solute dipole is increased. It is shown that these behaviors correlate with the peak value of the solvent-solute radial distribution function, which demonstrates the importance of the first hydration shell structure in determining the rotational dynamics and dependence of these dynamics on the solute dipole and location.     

Monte Carlo simulations of the solution structure of simple alcohols in water-acetonitrile mixtures

Monte Carlo simulations have been performed to explore the solution structure of ethyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, and tertiary butyl alcohols in pure water, pure acetonitrile, and different mixtures of the two solvents. The explicit solvent studies in NpT ensembles at T = 298 K illustrate that the solute "discriminates" the solvent's components and that the composition of the first solvation shell differs from that of the bulk solution. Since the polarizable continuum dielectric method (PCM) does not presently model the solvation of molecules with both polar and apolar sites in mixed protic solvents, we suggest a direction for further program development wherein a continuum dielectric method would accept more than one solvent and the solute sites would be solvated by user-defined solvent components. The prevailing solvation model will be determined upon the lowest free energy calculated for a particular solvation pattern of the solute having a specific conformational/tautomeric state. Characterization of equilibrium hydrogen-bond formation becomes a complicated problem that depends on the chemical properties of the solute and its conformation, as well as upon the varying nature of the first solvation shell. For example, while the number of hydrogen bonds to secondary and tertiary alcohol solutes are nearly constant in pure water and in water-acetonitrile mixtures with at least 50% water content, the number of hydrogen bonds to primary alcohols gradually decreases for most of their conformations when acetonitrile content is increased. Nonetheless, the calculations indicate that O-H...O(water) hydrogen bonds are still possible in a small fraction of the arrangements for the solution models with water content of 30% or less. The isopentene solute does not form any observable hydrogen bonds, despite having an electron-rich, double-bond site.     

Molecular mobility in amorphous maltose and maltitol from phosphorescence of erythrosin B

We have used phosphorescence from erythrosin B (tetraiodofluorescein) dispersed in amorphous thin films of maltose and maltitol at mole ratios of 0.8:10(4) dye:sugar to monitor the molecular mobility of these matrixes over the temperature range from -25 to over 110 degrees C. Analysis of the emission peak frequency and bandwidth (full width at half-maximum) and time-resolved intensity decay parameters provided information about thermally activated modes of matrix mobility that enhanced the rate of dipolar relaxation around the triplet state and the rate of intersystem crossing to the ground state (k(TS0)). Detectable dipolar relaxation began in the glassy state about 50 degrees C below T(g) in both maltose and maltitol; the relaxation rate, however, while 3-4 orders of magnitude slower than literature values for the beta relaxation determined from dielectric relaxation, had an activation energy only 2-fold smaller. Dipolar relaxation was further enhanced in the melt above T(g); the dipolar relaxation rates in the melt scaled nearly exactly with rates for the alpha relaxation determined from dielectric relaxation. Intensity decays were well fit using a stretched exponential decay function in which the lifetime (tau) and the stretching exponent (beta) were the physically significant parameters. In maltose, the magnitude of k(TS0) was essentially constant in the glass and increased dramatically at the T(g); in maltitol k(TS0) increased moderately at T(g) = -50 degrees C and more dramatically in the melt at T(g) = +20 degrees C. The value of k(TS0) in maltose:maltitol mixtures was significantly smaller than that seen in pure maltose and maltitol, suggesting that specific interactions decreased the mobility of the mixed sugar matrix; this phenomenon was comparable to the antiplasticization seen in mixtures of small molecule plasticizers with synthetic polymers and starch. The extent of inhomogeneous broadening and dynamic heterogeneity were essentially constant in the glass and increased dramatically in maltose and more gradually in maltitol at the glass transition.     

Dielectric spectroscopy of hydrogen bond dynamics and microheterogenity of water + dioxane mixtures

Mixtures of water or D2O + 1,4-dioxane (DX) have been studied at 25 degrees C by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) for DX mole fractions 0 < or = x2 < or = 0.67. The spectra were best fitted by the sum of two Debye terms. The slower process was assigned to the cooperative relaxation of the hydrogen-bond network of water, whereas the faster mode reflects the dynamics of H2O molecules in a DX-rich environment. Analysis of the relaxation parameters revealed a largely microheterogeneous structure of the mixtures. The marked slowing-down of the cooperative mode on addition of DX is ascribed to the reduction of available H-bond acceptor sites and geometrical constraints on the H2O molecules in the water-rich regions.     

Sorption of water and organic solutes in polyimide films and its effects on dielectric properties

The effect of structure on the sorption kinetics of water and of various organic solutes into polyimide (PMDA-ODA) thin films was studied. The major techniques employed include measurements of sorption kinetics, density, and dielectric relaxation. More solute uptake, lower densities and higher diffusivities were observed for films cured at lower temperatures. By measuring both changes of mass and of density, the volume expansion of the polymer due to each solute was obtained; this was found to be proportional to the molar volume of the solute. The two dielectric relaxation peaks (denoted by γ₁ and γ₂) due to water (and other solutes) were studied in detail to obtain the relevant activation energies and the separate dipole moments. While water and methylene chloride appear in both γ₁ and γ₂ configurations, methyl and ethyl alcohol appear mainly as γ₂, while acetic acid is primarily γ₁. It was concluded that the γ₁ configurations are relatively homogeneously distributed throughout the polymer, involving loose bonding to the polymer structure, while the γ₂ configurations involve small clusters, probably chains of molecules. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solvent reorganization contributions in solute transfer thermodynamics: inferences from the solvent equation of state

Solvation enthalpies of simple solutes contain contributions from (1) solute-solvent interactions and (2) solute-induced modifications of solvent-solvent interactions (solvent reorganization). It has recently been suggested in the literature that these contributions can, under certain conditions, be estimated with additional experimental data on thermodynamic response functions of the pure solvent (coefficient of thermal expansion, isothermal compressibility) and the solute solvation volume. We analyze and discuss these conditions based on computer simulations of a series of polar and nonpolar solutes in a polar and nonpolar liquid solvent.     

Dielectric Relaxation Study of Chloro Group with Associative Liquids. II. 1,2-Dichloroethane with Methanol, Ethanol, and 1-Propanol

Frequency spectra of the complex permittivity for 1,2-dichloroethane–alcohol binary mixtures have been determined over the frequency range 10 MHz to 20 GHz at 15, 25, 35, and 45°C, using the time-domain reflectometry (TDR) technique, for 11 compositions of each 1,2 dichloroethane–alcohol system. The alcohols used in the study were methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol. The relaxation in these systems can be described by a single relaxation time using the Debye model. The static dielectric constant, relaxation time, the corresponding excess dielectric properties, Kirkwood correlation factor, and Bruggeman factor of the mixtures have been determined. The static dielectric constants for the mixtures have been fitted with the modified Bruggeman model.     

Hydration of tetraphenylphosphonium and tetraphenylborate ions by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy

A systematic study of the dielectric relaxation spectra of aqueous solutions of NaBPh4 and Ph4PCl has been made at solute concentrations of 0.02 < or = c/M < or = 0.82 and 0.20, respectively, and over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) at 25 degrees C. The spectra were best described by a superposition of four Debye processes, consisting of a very small ion-pair contribution with an average relaxation time of about 300 ps, a "slow"-water relaxation at 17 ps, and two bulk-water relaxations at 8 ps and 0.25 ps, respectively. The slow-water process has been assigned to the presence of a sheath of water molecules surrounding BPh4- and Ph4P+, whose structure has been enhanced by its proximity to the bulky hydrophobic phenyl rings. A structure-making effect on the remaining solvent water can also be observed at low concentrations. More importantly, BPh4- and Ph4P+ show almost identical hydration characteristics, which provides indirect support for the use of the tetraphenylphosphonium tetraphenylborate reference electrolyte assumption in deriving single-ion thermodynamic properties.     

Is there an anionic Hofmeister effect on water dynamics? Dielectric spectroscopy of aqueous solutions of NaBr, NaI, NaNO3, NaClO4, and NaSCN

A systematic study of the dielectric relaxation spectra of aqueous solutions of NaBr, NaI, NaNO(3), NaClO(4), and NaSCN has been made over a wide range of frequencies (0.2 < or = nu/GHz < or = 89) and solute concentrations (0.05 < or = c/M < or = 1.5) at 25 degrees C. The spectra could be adequately described by a single Cole-Cole (CC) process, symmetrically broadened relative to that of pure water. However, similar quality fits were also obtained with a three-Debye-process (3D) model consisting of a small ion-pair contribution at lower frequencies and two solvent relaxations at higher frequencies. Assuming the ions to be solvent separated, the 3D model provided estimates of their association constants and their rate constants for formation and dissociation. The bulk water relaxation times obtained from both models showed almost no dependence on the nature of the anion. Nevertheless, there were subtle differences in the concentration dependences of the relaxation times which correlated with some, but not all, of the anion properties that are believed to be relevant for explaining the anionic Hofmeister series.     

On the visco-elastic and dielectric behaviour of two alcohols and their binary mixture

Inter-molecular and intra-molecular interactions in liquids determine the physical properties of the systems. These interactions are understood through the measurement of these physical properties. These become especially important in the case of alcohols in view of the specific type of interactions involved. Study of the variation of dielectric relaxation time with the viscosity of the medium is relevant in drawing certain quantitative conclusions regarding molecular motion and the inter-molecular forces in liquids, liquid mixtures, dilute solutions and multi-component polar solutes in dilute solution. In the absence of a perfect empirical or theoretical equation for the variation of dielectric relaxation time with viscosity, the experimental investigations on different systems can only give an insight. In the present study, the results of dielectric measurements carried out on pure samples of methyl alcohol and propyl alcohol in dilute solutions in different mixed solvents (benzene?+?paraffin) and on binary mixture (1?:?1) of methyl alcohol?+?propyl alcohol are reported. Different parameters determined are presented and these studies indicate that the dielectric behaviour at microwave frequencies favour the concept of dynamic viscosity and a single visco-elastic relaxation time for the systems under study.     

Testing assumptions about solute concentration dependence in liquid crystal NMR

The NMR spectra of four solutes, used as probes of liquid crystal orientational order, were analyzed. For each solute, samples were prepared at different solute concentrations, and the concentration dependence was used to extrapolate zero-concentration properties. The mean-field (Maier-Saupe) model when applied to solutes neglects solute-solute interactions and assumes all solutes in a mixed-solute sample see the same average environment. The first assumption is only valid as one approaches zero concentration, while experiments are typically carried out at concentrations between 0 and 10 mol %. The solute concentration dependence has in the past been "scaled out" using an internal solute reference as an orientational standard. We measured the concentration dependence of the orientational order parameter and calculate the corresponding interaction energies based on a mean-field interaction potential for a solute. We find agreement at the 3% level between experiments for different solutes while using (i) the zero-concentration values as solute-dependent orientational references and (ii) scaling to either order parameters or interaction energies; these two scalings gave equivalent but not identical results. We find, too, that errors inherent in the experiment and the calculations will limit attempts to refine the theory to push the comparisons beyond the 2% level.