Investigation of solid–liquid equilibrium and thermodynamic models of D-Tagatose in mono-solvents and binary solvents

As a rare sugar, D-Tagatose is regarded as an excellent low-energy food sweetener. It is especially beneficial for physical health, such as inhibiting hyperglycemia, improving intestinal flora, and avoiding caries. It is broadly employed in food, medicine, cosmetics, and other fields. Acquiring D-Tagatose solubility is vital to develop D-Tagatose crystallization process to obtain high-quality D-Tagatose production. In this study, the solubility of D-Tagatose in seven pure solvents (methanol, ethanol, n-propanol, water, N, N-dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, N-methylpyrrolidone), three binary solvents (ethanol-water mixtures, ethanol-methanol mixtures, and n-propanol-water mixtures) was determined by HPLC method at temperatures from 293.15 K to 323.15 K. Then, the Van't Hoff equation, Apelblat equation, λh equation, NRTL equation, CNIBS/Redlich-Kister model and modified Jouyban-Acree-van't Hoff model were used to correlate the solubility. The correlated solubility accounted for suitable compatibility with the experimental results (ARD <10%). Furthermore, we investigated the intermolecular interactions in the crystal structure through Hirshfeld surface analysis and estimated the overall charge distribution of molecules by molecular electrostatic potential surface (MEPs). Then, we analyzed the solvent effects and solvation free energy to explain the solubility behaviors. The results indicated that hydrogen bonds play a decisive role in determining the solubility of D-Tagatose.