ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

Phase behaviour of THF-water mixtures in nanoscale confinement

Abstract: Understanding the properties of fluids confined to nanometer scale pores is essential to predict and control a wide range of natural and industrial processes. In this proposal we would like to study the phase behaviour of mixtures of tetrahydrofuran (C4H8O, THF) and water in mesoporous silicas with pores of the order 3 - 10nm diameter. At the compositions we would like to study (1:3.3 and 1:17 THF:water) the liquids are miscible at ambient temperature, but sit under a critical point for closed-loop phase separation. By measuring the contrast matching points of liquids to the silica using two different methods (A - individual components matched, B overall mixture only matched) we will be able to confirm and quantify the nature of surface phase separation. We will study two mesoporous silicas: MCM-41 (~3 nm pores) and SBA-15 (~10nm pores). Our hypothesis based on our previous experiment on NIMROD (RB2210033) is that we will see demixing - we are excited to confirm and quantify this effect. We note also that THF-water is a clathrate forming system, and parallel studies are unearthing fascinating confinement effects at lower temperatures.

Local Contact: Dr Najet Mahmoudi
Experimenter: Mr Chenwei Zheng
Experimenter: Dr Marta Falkowska
Experimenter: Mr Syed Gilani

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2320243

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2320243

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Najet Mahmoudi et al; (2023): Phase behaviour of THF-water mixtures in nanoscale confinement, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2320243

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.