Measurement of temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients of aqueous solutions by near-infrared simultaneous imaging of temperature and concentration

The diffusion coefficients of methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, and glucose in water, and their temperature dependence are measured by analysing the simultaneously acquired temperature and concentration images. Simultaneous imaging is achieved using two wavelengths, 1905 nm and 1935 nm, in the nu(2) + nu(3) absorption band of water. In the band, the absorbance at 1905 nm is the most sensitive to temperature, whereas that at 1935 nm is independent of the temperature but strongly dependent on the concentration. To measure the diffusion coefficients, the time evolutions of the diffusion lengths are obtained by fitting the analytical solutions of the two-dimensional steady-state diffusion equation to the transverse concentration profiles in a Y-shaped microfluidic channel. The measured diffusion coefficients and their temperature dependence are verified by comparison with literature values.