Thermal properties and mixing state of ethylene glycol-water binary solutions by calorimetry, large-angle X-ray scattering, and small-angle neutron scattering

Thermal properties and mixing states of ethylene glycol (EG)-water binary solutions in the entire mole fraction range of EG, 0 <= x(EG) <= 1, have been clarified by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), large-angle X-ray scattering (LAXS), and small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) techniques. The DSC curves obtained have shown that the EG-water solutions over the range of EG mole fraction 0.3 <= x(EG) <= 0.5 are kept in the supercooling state until similar to 100 K, and those in the range of 0.6 <= x(EG) <= 0.8 are vitrified, and those in the ranges of 0 < x(EG) <= 0.2 and 0.9 <= x(EG) < 1 are crystallized. The radial distribution function (RDF) for pure EG obtained from the LAXS measurements has suggested that a gauche conformation of an EG molecule is favorable in the liquid. The RDFs for the EG-water solutions have shown that the structure of the binary solutions moderately changes from the inherent structure of EG to the tetrahedral-like structure of water when the water content increases. The SANS intensities for deuterated ethylene glycol (HOCD2CD2OH) (EGd4)-water solutions at x(EG) = 0.4 and 0.6 have not been significantly observed in the temperature range from 298 to 173 K, showing that EG and water molecules are homogeneously mixed. On the other hand, the SANS intensities at x(EG) = 0.2 and 0.9 have been strengthened when the temperature decreases due to crystallization of the solutions. On the basis of all the present results, a relation between thermal properties of EG-water binary solutions and their mixing states clarified by the LAXS and SANS measurements has been discussed at the molecular level.