Phase diagrams and water activities of aqueous dicarboxylic acid systems of atmospheric importance

We have studied liquid/solid phase diagrams and water activities of the dicarboxylic acid/water binary systems for maleic, dl-malic, glutaric, and succinc acids using differential scanning calorimetry, infrared (IR) spectroscopy of thin films, and conductivity analysis of saturated solutions. For each binary system we report the measurements of the ice melting envelope, the acid dissolution envelope, and the ice/acid eutectic temperature and composition. Water activities have been determined by using the freezing point depression of ice. Additionally, an irreversible solid/solid phase transition for maleic acid was observed in both DSC and IR studies likely due to the conversion of a meta-stable crystal form of maleic acid to its most stable crystal form. In general we find good agreement with literature values for temperature-dependent acid solubilities.