Applications of Thermodynamics to Nonelectrolyte Solutions

It has been said chemists have solutions 3 Solutions are involved in so many chemical processesb that we must have the mathematical tools to comfortably work with them, and thermodynamics provides many of these tools. Thermodynamic properties such as the chemical potential, partial molar properties, fugacities, and activities, provide the keys to unlock the description of mixtures. 

Solutions are usually classified as nonelectrolyte or electrolyte depending upon whether one or more of the components dissociates in the mixture. The two types of solutions are often treated differently. In electrolyte solutions properties like the activity coefficients and the osmotic coefficients are emphasized, with the dilute solution standard state chosen for the solute.c With nonelectrolyte solutions we often choose a Raoult s law standard state for both components, and we are more interested in the changes in the thermodynamic properties with mixing, AmixZ. In this chapter, we will restrict our discussion to nonelectrolyte mixtures and use the change AmjXZ to help us understand the nature of the interactions that are occurring in the mixture. In the next chapter, we will describe the properties of electrolyte solutions. 

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