Abstract
High-energy electromagnetic radiation scattering techniques have been used to measure the structural differences between liquids composed of four different isotopes of methanol (CH3OH, CD3OD, CH3OD and CD3OH) at temperatures of 24.5 °C and -80 °C. We measured the magnitude of the isotopic effect, which increases with decreasing temperature and comprises of both intramolecular and intermolecular effects. Intramolecularly, the C-O, O H. and to a lesser extent the C-H bond lengths, shorten upon deuteration. Intermolecularly, the winding hydrogen bonded chain structure is affected significantly. The results show that hydrogenated simple alcohols are more disordered liquids than deuterated alcohols at the same temperature. Substitution at the methyl site is compared to substitution at the hydroxyl site and the effect is shown to increase more rapidly as temperature is decreased.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 341-347 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | EPL |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 1 2001 |
Externally published | Yes |