Investigation of the behavior of methyl octanoate and 2-alkanol mixtures: Evaluating the friction theory

This study investigated the volumetric and viscous properties of binary mixtures composed of methyl octanoate (MO) and a series of 2-alkanols (ranging from C3 to C6) across a temperature range of 293.15 to 323.15 K. Experimental analysis indicated positive excess molar volumes and negative viscosity deviations, suggesting comparatively weak intermolecular interactions between MO and the 2-alkanol molecules. The observed positive excess molar volumes suggest that the mixing process results in an expansion, potentially due to disruption of self-associated structures within the pure components. Conversely, the negative viscosity deviations indicate a decrease in resistance to flow compared to ideal mixing, further supporting the notion of reduced cohesive forces in the mixtures. To further elucidate the mixture behavior and provide a predictive capability, the Friction theory (f-theory) was employed to model the viscosity of the mixtures. The model exhibited a high degree of accuracy, with a maximum discrepancy of only 2.32 % observed for the MO + 2-hexanol system. This close agreement between the theoretical predictions and experimental data underscores the utility of the f-theory as a robust tool for predicting the rheological behavior of these binary mixtures, offering potential applications in fields such as chemical process design and optimization.