Evidence of anomalous behavior of intermolecular interactions at low concentration of methanol in ethanol-methanol binary system

Abstract

At low concentrations of methanol in a binary system of ethanol and methanol, uniquely complex molecular interactions are reported here. Previous studies indicate that ethanol molecules form aggregates held together by hydrogen bonding (O–H–O) and also dispersive forces. Addition of small amount of methanol tends to break the hydrogen bond network of ethanol due to the larger polarity of methanol. This leads to the ethanol molecules becoming somewhat isolated from each other within a scaffolding network of methanol molecules, as seen from the present molecular dynamics simulations. This is an indication of a repulsive force that dominates among the two different alcohols. At higher molar concentration of methanol (Xm > 0.3817), the strength and extent (number) of formation of hydrogen bonds between ethanol and methanol increase. The geometry of molecular structure at high concentration favors the fitting of component molecules with each other. Intermolecular interactions in the ethanol-methanol binary system over the entire concentration range were investigated in detail using broadband dielectric spectroscopy, FTIR, surface tension and refractive index studies. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the hydrogen bond density is a direct function of the number of methanol molecules present, as the ethanol aggregates are not strictly hydrogen-bond constructed which is in agreement with the experimental results.