Acetonitrile + nitromethane: An example of ideal solvent mixtures

Densities, viscosities, static dielectric constants and refractive indices of acetonitrile + nitromethane mixtures in the temperature range between 5 and 45°C are reported. Density and viscosity data, analyzed in terms of molar excess volumes and molar excess fluidities, show a weak interactions field between acetonitrile and nitromethane molecules. Lorentz-Lorenz molar refractivities and Kirkwood correlation factors, obtained from refractive indices and dielectric constants data, respectively, indicate that such weak interactions can be atributed to an antiparallel alignment between neighboring dipoles of unlike solvent molecules. Such specific features do not significantly perturb the local structures of the pure components so that acetonitrile + nitromethane mixtures can be considered, in a first approximation, one of the few ideal solvent mixtures for which the physical properties can be determined by applying the additivity rules to the pure components.     

Polymer-surfactant Interactions

Aqueous solutions containing poly(vinyl-pyrrolidone) and sodium caprylate, or poly(vinyl-pyrrolidone) and tetraethylammonium perfluorooctanesulfonate,respectively, have been investigated by volumetric, ionic conductivity and surface tension methods. The presence of an interaction region has been determined from conductivity and surface tension. The width of such a region depends on the amount of polymer in the mixture,temperature, surfactant content and added electrolyte (NaCl). The observed behaviour was explained in terms of the combined effects played by the alkyl-chain hydophobicity, polar head group(s) and counter-ions. An approximate solution to a mass action model for the binding of surfactants onto polymers has been introduced. It allows determining the width of the interaction region as a function of polymer mass percent in the mixture. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.