Analysis of Mesoscopic Structured 2-Propanol/Water Mixtures Using Pressure Perturbation Calorimetry and Molecular Dynamic Simulation

In this paper we demonstrate the application of pressure perturbation calorimetry (PPC) to the characterization of 2-propanol/water mixtures. PPC of different 2-propanol/water mixtures provides two useful measurements: (i) the change in heat (ΔQ); and (ii) the [Formula: see text] value. The results demonstrate that the ΔQ values of the mixtures deviate from that expected for a random mixture, with a maximum at ~20–25 mol% 2-propanol. This coincides with the concentration at which molecular dynamics (MD) simulations show a maximum deviation from random distribution, and also the point at which alcohol–alcohol hydrogen bonds become dominant over alcohol–water hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, the [Formula: see text] value showed transitions at 2.5 mol% 2-propanol and at approximately 14 mol% 2-propanol. Below 2.5 mol% 2-propanol the values of [Formula: see text] are negative; this is indicative of the presence of isolated 2-propanol molecules surrounded by water molecules. Above 2.5 mol% 2-propanol [Formula: see text] rises, reaching a maximum at ~14 mol% corresponding to a point where mixed alcohol–water networks are thought to dominate. The values and trends identified by PPC show excellent agreement not only with those obtained from MD simulations but also with results in the literature derived using viscometry, THz spectroscopy, NMR and neutron diffraction. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10953-016-0554-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.