Reasonable values of the thermodynamic characteristics for the cluster formation of odd alcohols at the air/water interface are obtained by the quantum chemical PM3 approximation. The calculated values of enthalpy
Δ
, entropy Δ
and Gibbs energy Δ
for the formation of clusters of a given structure depend linearly
on the number of CH2 groups in the odd alcohol molecule. The additive approach, proposed in a recent
paper, was further developed to extend the results of the calculations of the thermodynamic properties of
small associates (2 to 7 alcohol molecules) to infinite clusters of odd and even homologues. Hydrogen O···H
bonds, O···O interactions between the oxygen lone pairs, and four types of H···H interaction are taken into
account, and the thermodynamic characteristics of the formation of linear, rhombic, rectangular, etc. clusters
are calculated. Depending on the cluster type, the dependence of the Gibbs free energy on the alkyl chain
length can be either the same for all homologous alcohols or can be different for the even and odd homologues.
The most stable associates are clusters possessing rhombic or dodecahedral structures and linear clusters
possessing one H···H bond per each methylene group. The former type exhibits a monotonic dependence of
the thermodynamic parameters on the number of methylene groups, whereas for the latter type this dependence
is stepwise. The results of the quantum chemical calculations agree well with the results obtained on the
basis of a thermodynamic model that assumes equilibrium between oligomers and clusters within the monolayer.
The experimental Π−A isotherms, indicating the existence of a first-order phase transition, and the microscopic
morphology of the condensed-phase domains of tridecanol monolayers support the results of the quantum
chemical and thermodynamic calculations.
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