Structural evolution of aqueous NaCl solutions dissolved in supercritical carbon dioxide under isobaric heating by mid and near infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

The local order in aqueous NaCl solutions diluted in supercritical carbon dioxide at constant pressure as a function of NaCl concentration and temperature has been investigated using near and mid infrared absorption spectroscopy. The near IR results have allowed us to estimate the water concentration in CO(2) rich phase, whereas the state of water aggregation in CO(2) phase was investigated using mid IR spectroscopy. The analysis of the band shape variations of the OD stretching mode of HOD led us to conclude that below 100 degrees C, water molecules dissolved in CO(2) exist only under their monomeric form, whatever the salt concentration is, whereas hydrogen-bonded species, namely, dimers start to appear at higher temperatures. Larger aggregates have a negligible concentration in the range of temperature-pressure investigated. Using near and mid infrared data, we have calculated the concentrations of water species in the CO(2) phase. Upon heating, it was found that the concentration of dimers considerably increases at the expense of the monomers and only dimers are detected in carbon dioxide at highest temperatures. Changing the salt concentration affects significantly the concentration of monomers and decreases strongly the dimers population as the solution becomes progressively saturated in salt. In the saturated solution, at 340 degrees C, the dimer concentration is at least two times smaller than in the binary water-CO(2) mixture. These findings are in qualitative agreement with existing thermodynamics data showing that addition of NaCl to the binary H(2)O-CO(2) system shifts the range of partial miscibility of water and CO(2) towards higher pressure and temperature.