A combined experimental
and computational thermodynamic study of
4-ethylmorpholine was undertaken in this work to resolve large discrepancies
between the two vapor pressure data sets reported in the literature.
As no thermodynamic tests were capable of revealing which of the published
data sets are in error, new vapor pressure measurements by the static
method and determination of liquid-phase heat capacities by Tian–Calvet
calorimetry were carried out in this work. Ideal-gas heat capacities,
an indispensable input for testing the thermodynamic consistency of
vapor pressures, were obtained by combining statistical thermodynamics
and quantum chemical calculations. Although the vapor pressure determined
in this work was found to be in reasonable agreement with one data
set published previously (deviations within 10%), both literature
data sets show significant inconsistencies with heat capacity data.
Therefore, the recommended vapor pressure equation for 4-ethylmorpholine
was developed solely based on the vapor pressure and heat capacity
data obtained in this work, which were treated simultaneously to ensure
a thermodynamically consistent description of vapor pressure in the
temperature range 243–298 K with the estimated expanded (k = 2) uncertainty of 0.5%.