Temperature dependent static dielectric constant and viscosity behaviour of glycerol-amide binary mixtures: Characterization of dominant complex structures in dielectric polarization and viscous flow processes

The static dielectric constant and viscosity of the binary mixtures of glycerol (Gly) with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) were measured over the entire composition range at temperatures 288.15, 303.15, 318.15 and 333.15 K. The concentration dependent non-linear behaviour of the measured thermodynamical parameters revealed the formation of hydrogen bond interactions between glycerol and amide molecules with a variety of complexes. The excess dielectric constant and excess viscosity were determined and analyzed for the confirmation of the composition of dominant complex species. Results inferred that the dielectric polarization in both the Gly-DMF and Gly-DMA mixtures is governed by 1:1 complex species with enhanced dipolar ordering at all the investigated temperatures. The complex species of 3Gly:DMF and 2Gly:DMA facilitates the viscous flow process in Gly-DMF and Gly-DMA mixtures, respectively and the density of these species is strongly influenced by the change in temperature. Arrhenius type behaviour of viscosity against the reciprocal of temperature was used to determine the apparent activation energy of the viscous flow. The electric-field-induced increment of the Helmholtz free energy and the entropy were determined from the temperature dependence of the static dielectric constant and its derivative of the binary mixtures. Results were discussed to assess the volume effect of DMF and DMA molecules on hydrogen bonding interactions with glycerol molecules in order to confirm the structural conformations of these mixed solvents. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.