Structural Peculiarities of Water Solutions in n-Alkanols Derived from the Study of Bulk Properties at Different Temperatures

The structural behavior of water microimpurities in n-alkanols (C1-C7) is considered by using our and literature data on the bulk properties of infinitely dilute solutions of H2O in the above organic solvents at 278.15 K, 298.15 K, and 318.15 K. Volume effects of water solution in hypothetical alkanols HOH (pseudowater) and H(CH2)OH (pseudomethanol) with molar volumes corresponding to volume effects in water and methanol in pure liquid states have been evaluated. The behavior of water in methanol, which is distinct from the behavior of other H2O—n-alkanol systems, is of configurational nature and is associated with the unique molecular structure of this alcohol (i.e., with the absence of hydrocarbon chains in its molecules) and also with steric peculiarities of the arrangement of solute molecules in the structural matrix of the solvent (so-called “edge effect”).