Density measurements of poly(ethylene oxide)13−poly(propylene oxide)30−poly(ethylene oxide)13 (L64)−water and alcohol−L64−water systems were carried out at 293 and 301 K. The alcohols studied are
propanol to pentanol and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (F3EtOH) to 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluorobutanol (F7BuOH).
From the experimental data of the water−L64 binary system as functions of L64 concentration (m
C), the
partial molar volumes of L64 in the standard state and in the aqueous and micellar phases were calculated.
At both temperatures L64 micelle is formed by a core of pure polypropylene oxide units and a hydrated
shell of poly(ethylene oxide) units. In the case of the ternary systems, the apparent molar volumes of
alcohol (V
Φ
,R), at a fixed concentration, as functions of m
C were determined. At 293 K, only the premicellar
region was studied because the viscosity of the solutions in the micellar region did not permit us to obtain
reliable density values. For hydrogenated alcohols as well as for F3EtOH, V
Φ
,R as functions of m
C are
concave curves while for F7BuOH the curve is convex. At 301 K, V
Φ
,R of hydrogenated alcohols slightly
depends on m
C up to the cmc beyond which it increases monotonically with the concentration. The trends
of V
Φ
,R vs m
C for the fluorinated alcohols are peculiar since at ≈0.07 mol kg-1 (micellar region) they show
anomalies which are more pronounced the more hydrophobic the alcohol is. The latter were ascribed to
structural changes of the aggregates. On the basis of an equation previously reported, from the V
Φ
,R data
as functions of m
C, the partial molar volumes of alcohol in the aqueous and the micellar phases and the
distribution constant of alcohol between the two pseudophases were derived.