Transport properties of binary Lennard-Jones mixtures: Insights from entropy scaling and conformal solution theory

Abstract

The relation of transport properties and the molecular interactions in binary mixtures was studied. The self-diffusion coefficient, Maxwell–Stefan as well as Fickian mutual diffusion coefficient, shear viscosity, and thermal conductivity of liquid binary simple mixtures were therefore sampled using molecular dynamics simulations. The mixtures were described by the Lennard-Jones potential. The molecular interaction parameters were chosen such that a large variety of mixture behavior was covered. The two components had the same size parameter in all cases, but different dispersion energies. Moreover, the cross-interaction parameter used in the modified Lorentz-Berthelot combination rule was varied such that the resulting mixtures showed different types of phase behavior: ideal, high- and low-boiling azeotrope. The results are discussed using conformal solution theory as a link between the molecular interactions in the mixtures and the macroscopic properties. Moreover, the applicability of Rosenfeld’s entropy scaling is tested. Despite the important differences of the studied mixtures regarding their molecular interactions and the large pressure, temperature, and composition range considered, a practically monovariate relation of these properties with respect to the configurational entropy is observed. Yet, the quality of the approximation differs for the studied properties.