Dielectric relaxation study of pyridine-alcohol mixtures using time domain reflectometry

Time domain reflectometry is applied to dielectric relaxation measurements on pyridine-alcohol (methanol, ethanol, propan- 1-o1 and butan-1 -o1) mixtures over the entire concentration range and over the frequency range 10MHz-10GHz at 5, 15, 25 and 35°C. From the data, static permittivity and the dielectric relaxation time are extracted using a bilinear calibration method and a nonlinear least-squares fit method. These mixtures exhibit a principal dispersion of the Debye type at microwave frequencies. The Kirkwood correlation factor, which contains information regarding solute-solvent interaction and corresponding structural information, was obtained for these systems, and the excess inverse relaxation time and molar energy of activation for all these systems were determined. The values of the static permittivity, the relaxation time and the Kirkwood correlation factor decrease with increased pyridine concentration in alcohol. The static permittivity of the mixtures fits the modified Brugemann model well.