Dielectric behaviour of propylene glycol-water mixtures studied by time domain reflectometry

Dielectric relaxation measurements on water mixtures of propylene glycol across the entire concentration range were carried out using time domain reflectometry at 25°C over the frequency range from 10 MHz to 4 GHz. For all the mixtures, only one dielectric loss peak was observed in this frequency range. The relaxation in these mixtures can be described by a single relaxation time using the Debye model. A plot of the calculated relaxation time of the mixtures gives a straight line against the mole fraction of water, X_w. It is reasoned that the diameter of the water cluster is nearly the same as the length of propylene glycol. Further, a plot of the dielectric relaxation strength δ? against X_w suggests that there is a changing pattern of dielectric behaviour from below X_w = 0.5 to higher values of X_w. The excess permittivity, the excess inverse relaxation time and the activation free energy have been determined, to confirm the formation of hydrogen bonded homogeneous and heterogeneous cooperative domains, the dynamics of solute-solvent interaction and the hindrance to molecular rotation in the hydrogen bonded glass forming propylene glycol-water system.