VISCOSITY STUDIES OF SOLUTIONS OF WATER IN NORMAL-ALIPHATIC ALCOHOLS AT VARIOUS TEMPERATURES

Viscosity measurements have been made at 25°C on solutions of water in n-propanol, and at 15, 25, 35, and 45°C on solutions of water in n-butanol, n-pentanol, and n-hexanol over the respective solubility ranges. For most of the systems, water decreases the viscosity of the dry alcohols, while for the lower members of the series literature data report an increase in viscosity on addition of water. These results are rationalized in terms of two kinds of interaction between water molecules and alcohols: participation of water molecules in chain formation for the lower alcohols and formation of water-centered complexes for butanol and higher alcohols. © 1979 Plenum Publishing Corporation.