Abstract  The knowledge of the chemical stability as a function of the temperature of ionic liquids (ILs) in the presence of other molecules such as water is crucial prior to developing any industrial application and process involving these novel materials. Fluid phase equilibria and density over large range of temperature and composition can give basic information on IL purity and chemical stability. The IL scientific community requires accurate measurements accessed from reference data. In this work, the stability of different alkylsulfates-based ILs in the presence of water and various alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 1-butanol and 1-octanol) was investigated to understand their stability as a function of temperature up to 423.15 K over the hydrolysis and transesterification reactions, respectively. From this investigation, it was clear that methylsulfate- and ethylsulfate- based ILs are not stable in presence of water since hydrolysis of the methylsulfate or ethylsulfate anions to methanol or ethanol and hydrogenate anion is undoubtedly observed. Such observations could help explain the differences observed for the physical properties published in the literature by various groups. Furthermore, it appears that a thermodynamic equilibrium process drives these hydrolysis reactions. In other words, these hydrolysis reactions are in fact reversible, providing the possibility to reform the desired alkylsulfate anions by a simple transesterification reaction between hydrogen sulfate-based ILs and the corresponding alcohol (methanol or ethanol). Additionally, butylsulfate and octylsulfate-based ILs appear to follow this pattern but under more drastic conditions. In these systems hydrolysis is observed in both cases after several months for temperature up to 423 K in presence of water. Therein, the partial miscibility of hydrogen sulfate-based ILs with long chain alcohols (1-butanol and 1-octanol) can help explain the enhanced hydrolytic stability of the butylsulfate- and octylsulfate-based ILs compared with the methyl- or ethysulfate systems. Additionally, rapid transesterification reactions are observed during liquid-liquid equilibrium studies as a function of temperature for binary systems of (hydrogen sulfate-based ionic liquids + 1-butanol) and of (hydrogen sulfate-based ionic liquids + 1-octanol). Finally, this atom efficient catalyst-free transesterification reaction between hydrogen sulfate -based ILs and alcohol was then tested to provide a novel way to synthesize new ILs with various anion structures containing the alkylsulfate group.

Abstract  Hydrophobic hydration is considered to have a key role in biological processes ranging from membrane formation to protein folding and ligand binding. Historically, hydrophobic hydration shells were thought to resemble solid clathrate hydrates, with solutes surrounded by polyhedral cages composed of tetrahedrally hydrogen-bonded water molecules. But more recent experimental and theoretical studies have challenged this view and emphasized the importance of the length scales involved. Here we report combined polarized, isotopic and temperature-dependent Raman scattering measurements with multivariate curve resolution (Raman-MCR) that explore hydrophobic hydration by mapping the vibrational spectroscopic features arising from the hydrophobic hydration shells of linear alcohols ranging from methanol to heptanol. Our data, covering the entire 0-100 °C temperature range, show clear evidence that at low temperatures the hydration shells have a hydrophobically enhanced water structure with greater tetrahedral order and fewer weak hydrogen bonds than the surrounding bulk water. This structure disappears with increasing temperature and is then, for hydrophobic chains longer than ~1 nm, replaced by a more disordered structure with weaker hydrogen bonds than bulk water. These observations support our current understanding of hydrophobic hydration, including the thermally induced water structural transformation that is suggestive of the hydrophobic crossover predicted to occur at lengths of ~1 nm (refs 5, 9, 10, 14).

Abstract  We have conducted x-ray diffraction, calorimetric and Brillouin-scattering experiments on n-butanol between 77 and 300 K, aiming to explore the physical nature of the so-called 'glacial state' previously found in n-butanol as well as in triphenyl phosphite. In addition to our structural and thermodynamic studies of the liquid-glass transition and of the stable crystal state in n-butanol, we have found that the metastable 'glacial state' that can be obtained in the temperature range 125-160 K is not a second amorphous state, but rather the result of a frustrated or aborted crystallization process that produces plenty of nanocrystallites embedded in a disordered matrix. The crystalline order of these nanocrystallites of the 'glacial phase' is exactly the same as that well observed in the fully ordered stable crystal into which it transforms by heating above 160 K.

Abstract  Binodal data and liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data for alcohol + ammonium sulfate + water systems were measured using the cloud-point method and saturation density method at different temperatures. The effect of temperature on the phase- forming ability of isopropanol and n-butanol was also discussed, based on the phase diagrams. Furthermore, an empirical nonlinear expression was used to reproduce the experimental binodal data. The liquid-liquid equilibrium compositions of the aqueous systems were correlated and predicted using Othmer-Tobias and Bancroft equations at different temperatures. The results obtained from the correlation were consistent with root mean square deviations that were always below 1.7% as mass fractions between the experimental and calculated compositions of both equilibrium phases. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract  The objective of this work was to study the adsorption of different oxygenated hydrocarbons (methanol, ethanol, 1 and 2-butanol, methyl acetate) on activated carbons from organic mixtures with cyclohexane. Three activated carbons prepared by thermal and chemical treatments of a commercial carbon were employed for this purpose. Their textural properties were found to be similar, whereas their surface chemistries were modified, as shown by temperature-programmed desorption coupled to mass spectrometry (TPD-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption isotherms were obtained by depletion method, and the analysis of adsorbed species was evaluated by TPD-MS to obtain new insight into the interactions between the different hydrocarbons and the carbon surface. Ethanol leads to a high-energy interaction between its hydroxyl function and the oxygenated surface groups and also to a lower energy interaction between the aliphatic part of the molecule and the carbon material. The desorption activation energy for this hydrophilic interaction is high (50 to 105 kJ/mol), and it is related to the nature of the carbon surface groups. The relative importance of these two interactions depend on the size of the alcohol/methanol is similar to ethanol, whereas butanols lead to more dispersive interactions. Methyl-acetate cannot undergo this kind of strong interaction and behaves like cyclohexane, having desorption activation energies ranging between 25 and 45 kJ/mol no matter the molecule and the carbon surface chemistry.

Abstract  X-ray powder diffraction patterns of n-butanol at 110 K and the isothermal transformation above the glass transition temperature of the supercooled liquid into the glacial state were recorded with a laboratory diffractometer. The starting structural model of the crystalline stable phase was found by a Monte-Carlo simulated annealing method. The final structure was obtained through Rietveld refinements with soft restraints on the interatomic bond lengths and angles. The cell is triclinic with space group P1 and contains two molecules. The width of the Bragg peaks is interpreted by a phenomenological microstructural approach in terms of anisotropic strain effects. The study of the hydrogen bonds by Raman spectroscopy shows the existence of two main kinds of hydrogen bonds in the crystal, in agreement with the structure obtained by diffraction. The glacial state resulting from an abortive crystallization is composed of microcrystallites of the stable phase coexisting with non-transformed supercooled liquid. Crystalline features of the glacial state were determined as closely connected to the microstructural description of the crystal, leading to information about the origin of the glacial state.

Abstract  In this paper, we present the results from molecular dynamics simulations of the equilibrium properties of liquid/liquid interfaces of room temperature ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]) and simple alcohols (i.e., methanol, 1-butanol, and 1-hexanol) at room temperature. Polarizable potential models are employed to describe the interactions among species. Results from our simulations show stable interfaces between the ionic liquid and n-alcohols, and we found that the interfacial widths decrease from methanol to 1-butanol systems and then increase for 1-hexanol interfaces. Angular distribution analysis reveals that the interface induces a strong orientational order of [bmim] and n-alcohol molecules near the interface, with [bmim] extending its butyl group into the alcohol phase, whereas the alcohol has the OH group pointing into the ionic liquid region, which is consistent with the recent sum-frequency-generation experiments. We found the interface to have a significant influence on the dynamics of ionic liquids and n-alcohols. The orientational autocorrelation functions illustrate that [bmim] rotates more freely near the interface than in the bulk, whereas the rotation of n-alcohol is hindered at the interface. Additionally, the time scale associated with the diffusion along the interfacial direction is found to be faster for [bmim] but slowed down for n-alcohols approaching the interface. We also calculate the dipole moment of n-alcohols as a function of the distance normal to the interface. We found that, even though methanol and 1-butanol have different dipole moments in bulk phase, they reach a similar value at the interface.

Abstract  The liquid phase esterification of butyric acid with a series of linear and branched alcohols is examined. Four strong cation exchange resins, Amberlyst™ 15, Amberlyst™ 36, Amberlyst™ BD 20, and Amberlyst™ 70, were used along with para-toluenesulfonic acid as a homogeneous catalyst. The effect of increasing alcohol carbon chain length and branching on esterification rate at 60°C is presented. For all catalysts, the decrease in turnover frequency (TOF) with increasing carbon chain length of the alcohol is described in terms of steric hindrance, alcohol polarity, and hydroxyl group concentration. The kinetics of butyric acid esterification with 2-ethylhexanol using Amberlyst™ 70 catalyst is described with an activity-based, pseudo-homogeneous kinetic model that includes autocatalysis by butyric acid.

Abstract  Standard molecular dynamics simulations have been carried out on pure alcohols and alcohol/water mixtures. A simple atom-atom force field consisting of Lennard-Jones potentials plus coulombic terms over atomic point charges, but without explicit polarization terms, has been specifically fitted to reproduce several experimental properties of the pure alcohols, and has been used for mixtures by developing combination rules with the TIP3P water model. Densities, enthalpies of vaporization, radial distribution functions, self-diffusion coefficients, and rotational correlation functions of the pure alcohols are well reproduced and compare favorably with those from more sophisticated force fields. Some key aspects of the phase behaviour are correctly reproduced by the molecular dynamics simulation, showing a distinct demixing process for the n-butanol/water mixture as opposed to the stability of the t-butanol/water mixtures. The results demonstrate the ability of a molecular dynamics simulation, even in its standard form and with easily accessible time ranges, but with a carefully optimized force field, to simulate and, to a certain extent, predict the properties of binary mixtures.

Abstract  We experimentally determined the density and mole fraction of CO(2) (x(CO(2))) for CO(2)-alcohol (methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, isopropyl alcohol, and tert-butyl alcohol) mixtures and performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the mechanisms of volume expansion at 40 °C. The volume as calculated by vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data increased with decreasing alkyl chain length, although there was no effect of branched alkyl groups. Analysis of the hydrogen bond network showed that the average number of hydrogen bonds per alcohol molecule decreased with increasing branched methyl groups. At pure alcohol condition, large size hydrogen bond networks were made. With further addition of CO(2) molecules, it became difficult to contain the large hydrogen bond networks. Furthermore, the hydrogen bond networks changed to a cyclic pentamer or tetramer, and volume expansion occurred.

Abstract  Building upon the nonadditive electrostatic force field for alcohols based on the CHARMM charge equilibration (CHEQ) formalism, we introduce atom-pair specific solute-solvent Lennard-Jones (LJ) parameters for alcohol-water interaction force fields targeting improved agreement with experimental hydration free energies of a series of small molecule linear alcohols as well as ab initio water-alcohol geometries and energetics. We consider short-chain, linear alcohols from methanol to butanol as they are canonical small-molecule organic model compounds to represent the hydroxyl chemical functionality for parametrizing biomolecular force fields for proteins. We discuss molecular dynamics simulations of dilute aqueous solutions of methanol and ethanol in TIP4P-FQ water, with particular discussion of solution densities, structure defined in radial distribution functions, electrostatic properties (dipole moment distributions), hydrogen bonding patterns of water, as well as a Kirkwood-Buff (KB) integral analysis. Calculation of the latter provides an assessment of how well classical force fields parametrized to at least semiquantitatively match experimental hydration free energies capture the microscopic structures of dilute alcohol solutions; the latter translate into macroscopic thermodynamic properties through the application of KB analysis. We find that the CHEQ alcohol force fields of this work semiquantitatively match experimental KB integrals for methanol and ethanol mole fractions of 0.1 and 0.2. The force field combination qualitatively captures the concentration dependence of the alcohol-alcohol and water-water KB integrals, but due to inadequacies in the representation of the microscopic structures in such systems (which cannot be parametrized in any systematic fashion), a priori quantitative description of alcohol-water KB integrals remains elusive.

Abstract  Characteristic molecular dynamics of reactant molecules confined in the space of the nanometer scale augments the frequency of collisions with the electrified surface so that a given faradaic reaction can be enhanced at nanoporous electrodes, the so-called nano-confinement effect. Since this effect is grounded on diffusion inside nanopores, it is predicted that adsorption onto the surface will seriously affect the enhancement by nano-confinement. We experimentally explored the correlation between adsorption and the confinement effect by examining the oxidation of butanol isomers at platinum and gold nanoporous electrodes. The results showed that electrooxidation of 2-butanol, which is a non-adsorption reaction, was enhanced more than that of 1-butanol, which is an adsorption reaction, at nanoporous platinum in acidic media. In contrast, the nanoporous gold electrode, on which 1-butanol is less adsorptive than it is on platinum, enhanced the electrooxidation of 1-butanol greatly. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of nanoporous gold for oxygen reduction reaction was improved so much as to be comparable with that of flat Pt. These findings show that the nano-confinement effect can be appreciable for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction as well as alcohol oxidation unless the adsorption is extensive, and suggests a new strategy in terms of material design for innovative non-noble metal electrocatalysts.

Abstract  More than one hundred volatile organic substances were identified by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the indoor and outdoor air, stable and farm road dust and farm soil samples from two pig and cattle farms in the South Moravian Region. Volatile fatty acids (acetic, propanoic, butanoic and pentanoic acids) and their esters dominated along with aldehydes (butanal, pentanal and hexanal) and 4-methylphenol in the indoor and outdoor air samples. Road dust and soil samples contained mainly volatile aromatic compounds (toluene, benzene, ethylbenzene, styrene and xylenes), aliphatic hydrocarbons (largely n-alkanes), dichloromethane and carbon disulphide. The health risks associated with particular volatile compounds detected in the indoor and outdoor samples from the farms need to be assessed.

Abstract  We calculate the standard state entropy, heat capacity, enthalpy, and Gibbs free energy for 13 radicals important for the combustion chemistry of biofuels. These thermochemical quantities are calculated from recently proposed methods for calculating partition functions of complex molecules by taking into account their multiple conformational structures and torsional anharmonicity. The radicals considered in this study are those obtained by hydrogen abstraction from 1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, and butanal. Electronic structure calculations for all conformers of the radicals were carried out using both density functional theory and explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory with quasipertubative inclusion of connected triple excitations. The heat capacity and entropy results are compared with sparsely available group additivity data, and trends in enthalpy and free energy as a function of radical center are discussed for the isomeric radicals.

Abstract  Dilute mixtures of n-butanal, 3-methylbutanal, and 3,3-dimethylbutanal in synthetic air, different N(2)/O(2) mixtures, and pure nitrogen (up to 100 ppm) were photolyzed with fluorescent UV lamps (275-380 nm) at 298 K. The main photooxidation products were ethene (n-butanal), propene (3-methylbutanal) or i-butene (3,3-dimethylbutanal), CO, vinylalcohol, and ethanal. The photolysis rates and the absolute quantum yields were found to be dependent on the total pressure of synthetic air but not of nitrogen. At 100 Torr, the total quantum yield Φ(100) = 0.45 ± 0.01 and 0.49 ± 0.07, whereas at 700 Torr, Φ(700) = 0.31 ± 0.01 and 0.36 ± 0.03 for 3-methylbutanal and 3,3-dimethybutanal, respectively. Quantum yield values for n-butanal were reported earlier by Tadić et al. (J. Photochem. Photobiol. A2001143, 169-179) to be Φ(100) = 0.48 ± 0.02 and Φ(700) = 0.32 ± 0.01. Two decomposition channels were identified: the radical channel RCHO → R + HCO (Norrish type I) and the molecular channel CH(3)CH(CH(3))CH(2)CHO → CH(2)CHCH(3) + CH(2)═CHOH or CH(3)C(CH(3))(2)CH(2)CHO → CHC(CH(3))CH(3) + CH(2)═CHOH, (Norrish type II) having the absolute quantum yields of 0.123 and 0.119 for 3-methybutanal and 0.071 and 0.199 for 3,3-dimethylbutanal at 700 Torr of synthetic air. The product ethenol CH(2)═CHOH tautomerizes to ethanal. We have performed ab initio and density functional quantum (DFT) chemical computations of both type I and type II processes starting from the singlet and triplet excited states. We conclude that the Norrish type I dissociation produces radicals from both singlet and triplet excited states, while Norrish type II dissociation is a two-step process starting from the triplet excited state, but is a concerted process from the singlet state.

Abstract  Isoquinolinium ionic liquid (IL) has been synthesized from N-hexylisoquinolinium bromide as a substrate. Specific basic characterization of the synthesized compound is included, which includes NMR spectra, elementary analysis, and water content. The basic thermal properties of the pure IL, that is, melting and solid-solid transition temperatures, as well as the enthalpy of fusion, or solid-solid transition have been measured using a differential scanning microcalorimetry technique. The density and viscosity as a function of temperature have been measured for the pure IL at temperatures higher than the melting temperature and were extrapolated to T = 298.15 K. The temperature-composition phase diagrams of 8 binary mixtures composed of the IL N-hexylisoquinolinium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide, ([HiQuin][NTf(2)]) and an aromatic hydrocarbon (benzene, or toluene, or ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene) or an alcohol (1-butanol, or 1-hexanol, or 1-octanol, or 1-decanol) have been determined from ambient temperature to the boiling-point temperature of the solvent at ambient pressure. A dynamic method was used over a broad range of mole fractions and temperatures from 270 to 330 K. For the binary systems, the eutectic diagrams were observed with immiscibility in the liquid phase with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST). In the case of the mixture {IL + benzene, or alkylbenzene} the eutectic systems with mutual immiscibility in the liquid phase with very high UCSTs were observed. These points were not detectable with our method and were observed at low IL mole fraction. For mixtures with alcohols, it was observed that with an increasing chain length of an alcohol, the solubility decreases and the UCST increases. The coexistence curves corresponding to liquid-liquid phase equilibrium boundaries and the solid-liquid phase equilibrium has been correlated using the well-known nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model.

Abstract  The thermochemistry and kinetics of the pyrolysis of 2-butanol have been conducted using ab initio methods (CBS-QB3 and CCSD(T)) and density functional theory (DFT). The enthalpies of formation and bond dissociation energies of some alcohols including 2-butanol and its derived radicals have been calculated. A variety of simple and complex dissociations have been examined. The results indicated that dehydration to 1- and 2-butene through four-center transition states is the most dominant channel at low to moderate temperatures (T ≤ 700 K), where formation of butenes is kinetically and thermodynamically more favorable than other complex and simple bond scission reactions. Although the C-C bond fission channels require more energy than needed for some complex decomposition reactions, the former pathways predominate at higher temperatures (T ≥ 800 K) due to the higher values of the pre-exponential factors. The progress of the complex decomposition reactions has been followed through intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations to understand the mechanism of transformation of 2-butanol to different products.

Abstract  Monohydroxy alcohols show a structural relaxation and at longer time scales a Debye-type dielectric peak. From spin-lattice relaxation experiments using different nuclear probes, an intermediate, slower-than-structural dynamics is identified for n-butanol. Based on these findings and on translational diffusion measurements, a model of self-restructuring, transient chains is proposed. The model is demonstrated to explain consistently the so-far puzzling observations made for this class of hydrogen-bonded glass forming liquids.

Abstract  The phase diagrams of the ionic liquid (IL) N-butyl-4-methylpyridinium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide ([BM(4)Py][NTf(2)]) with water, an alcohol (1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol), an aromatic hydrocarbon (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, n-propylbenzene), an alkane (n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane), or cyclohexane have been measured at atmospheric pressure using a dynamic method. This work includes the characterization of the synthesized compound by water content and also by differential scanning calorimetry. Phase diagrams for the binary systems of [BM(4)Py][NTf(2)] with all solvents reveal eutectic systems with regards to (solid-liquid) phase equilibria and show immiscibility in the liquid phase region with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in most of the mixtures. The phase equilibria (solid, or liquid-liquid) for the binary systems containing aliphatic hydrocarbons reported here exhibit the lowest solubility and the highest immiscibility gap, a trend which has been observed for all ILs. The reduction of experimental data has been carried out using the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) correlation equation. The phase diagrams reported here have been compared with analogous phase diagrams reported previously for systems containing the IL N-butyl-4-methylpyridinium tosylate and other pyridinium-based ILs. The influence of the anion of the IL on the phase behavior has been discussed.

Abstract  A review of the relevant literature on 1-alkyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids has been presented. The phase diagrams for the binary systems of {1-ethyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (triflate) [EMPYR][CF(3)SO(3)] + water, or + 1-butanol} and for the binary systems of {1-propyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (triflate) [PMPYR][CF(3)SO(3)] + water, or + an alcohol (1-butanol, 1-hexanol, 1-octanol, 1-decanol)} have been determined at atmospheric pressure using a dynamic method. The influence of alcohol chain length was discussed for the [PMPYR][CF(3)SO(3)]. A systematic decrease in the solubility was observed with an increase of the alkyl chain length of an alcohol. (Solid + liquid) phase equilibria with complete miscibility in the liquid phase region were observed for the systems involving water and alcohols. The solubility of the ionic liquid increases as the alkyl chain length on the pyrrolidinium cation increases. The correlation of the experimental data has been carried out using the Wilson, UNIQUAC and the NRTL equations. The phase diagrams reported here have been compared to the systems published earlier with the 1-alkyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium-based ionic liquids. The influence of the cation and anion on the phase behaviour has been discussed. The basic thermal properties of pure ILs, i.e., melting temperature and the enthalpy of fusion, the solid-solid phase transition temperature and enthalpy have been measured using a differential scanning microcalorimetry technique.

Abstract  An automated reaction mechanism generator is used to develop a predictive, comprehensive reaction mechanism for the high-temperature oxidation chemistry of n-butanol. This new kinetic model is an advancement of an earlier model, which had been extensively tested against earlier experimental data (Harper et al., Combust. Flame, 2011, 158, 16-41). In this study, the model's predictive capabilities are improved by targeting isomer-resolved quantitative mole fraction profiles of flame species in low-pressure flames. To this end, a total of three burner-stabilized premixed flames are isomer-selectively analyzed by flame-sampling molecular-beam time-of-flight mass spectrometry using photoionization by tunable vacuum-ultraviolet synchrotron radiation. For most species, the newly developed chemical kinetic model is capable of accurately reproducing the experimental trends in these flames. The results clearly indicate that n-butanol is mainly consumed by H-atom abstraction with H, O, and OH, forming predominantly the α-C(4)H(9)O radical (CH(3)CH(2)CH(2)˙CHOH). Fission of C-C bonds in n-butanol is only predicted to be significant in a similar, but hotter flame studied by Oßwald et al. (Combust. Flame, 2011, 158, 2-15). The water-elimination reaction to 1-butene is found to be of no importance under the premixed conditions studied here. The initially formed isomeric C(4)H(9)O radicals are predicted to further oxidize by reacting with H and O(2) or to decompose to smaller fragments via β-scission. Enols are detected experimentally, with their importance being overpredicted by the model.

Abstract  Recent work in our laboratory shows that it is possible to reproducibly measure the weight change over time of a piece of porcine skin exposed to a chemical vapor by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), that is, using a microbalance maintained at constant temperature and humidity. Here, we develop a diffusion model by which the TGA skin weight curve can be interpreted. A TGA-specific analytical solution for Fick's second law of diffusion was derived. The solution contains two chemical-dependent parameters; a diffusion coefficient (D) and a skin/air partition coefficient (P). The resulting function was fitted to weight curves from 83 experiments with 4 chemicals; n-butyl acetate, methanol, 2-propanol, and toluene. In most experiments, a single weight function could not adequately describe the shape of the weight curve, therefore up to five parallel compartments, each with its parameter set Di and Pi, were tested. A two-compartment model was adequate for 58% of the experiments according to the Akaike Information Criterion. Dermal penetration of the chemicals was also measured with Franz diffusion cells. The diffusion coefficients obtained by the two methods agreed well.

Abstract  We present a study of the local electronic structure surrounding the OH group in a series of alcohols by X-ray Raman scattering at the oxygen K edge. The samples include the linear alcohols from methanol to butanol as well as the isomers isopropanol, isobutanol, and 2-butanol. For interpretation and computational benchmarks, we combine classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and density functional theory (DFT) spectrum calculations. The results indicate that intramolecular structure influences the spectra considerably. Nevertheless, hydrogen bonding produces a clear spectral signature that is nearly identical in all of the alcohols. The spectral calculations using MD structures closely reproduce the experimental results and support the picture provided by the MD simulations.