Diffusivity experimental determination

The rate of diffusion is proportional to the concentration gradient, and the proportionality constant is defined as the diffusion coefficient (D) in Fick s first law of diffusion. Experimental determination of D is commonly performed ex vivo due to the difficulty of measuring concentration gradients in the interstitium. In vivo measurement can be performed in specific tissues, using transparent chamber preparations in combination with the FRAP technique (Berk et al., 1997 Jain et al., 1997 Pluen et al, 2001). However, the in vivo approach is limited only to fluorescent molecules or solutes whose D is not affected by labeling with fluorescent markers. 

Those Warren-Cowley parameters have been determined in situ above the order-disorder transition temperature by diffuse neutron scattering. From these experimentally determined static correlations, the first nine effective pair interactions have been deduced using inverse Monte Carlo simulations. 

Where, the diffusivity D for the transfer of one gas in another is not known and experimental determination is not practicable, it is necessary to use one of the many predictive procedures. A commonly used method due to Gilliland 6 is based on the Stefan-Maxwell hard sphere model and this takes the form ... 

Theoretical models available in the literature consider the electron loss, the counter-ion diffusion, or the nucleation process as the rate-limiting steps they follow traditional electrochemical models and avoid any structural treatment of the electrode. Our approach relies on the electro-chemically stimulated conformational relaxation control of the process. Although these conformational movements179 are present at any moment of the oxidation process (as proved by the experimental determination of the volume change or the continuous movements of artificial muscles), in order to be able to quantify them, we need to isolate them from either the electrons transfers, the counter-ion diffusion, or the solvent interchange we need electrochemical experiments in which the kinetics are under conformational relaxation control. Once the electrochemistry of these structural effects is quantified, we can again include the other components of the electrochemical reaction to obtain a complete description of electrochemical oxidation. 

Note that a number of complicating factors have been left out for clarity For instance, in the EMF equation, activities instead of concentrations should be used. Activities are related to concentrations by a multiplicative activity coefficient that itself is sensitive to the concentrations of all ions in the solution. The reference electrode necessary to close the circuit also generates a (diffusion) potential that is a complex function of activities and ion mobilities. Furthermore, the slope S of the electrode function is an experimentally determined parameter subject to error. The essential point, though, is that the DVM-clipped voltages appear in the exponent and that cheap equipment extracts a heavy price in terms of accuracy and precision (viz. quantization noise such an instrument typically displays the result in a 1 mV, 0.1 mV, 0.01 mV, or 0.001 mV format a two-decimal instrument clips a 345.678. .. mV result to 345.67 mV, that is it does not round up ... 78 to ... 8 ). 

For heterogeneous media composed of solvent and fibers, it was proposed to treat the fiber array as an effective medium, where the hydrodynamic drag is characterized by only one parameter, i.e., Darcy s permeability. This hydrodynamic parameter can be experimentally determined or estimated based upon the structural details of the network [297]. Using Brinkman s equation [49] to compute the drag on a sphere, and combining it with Einstein s equation relating the diffusion and friction coefficients, the following expression was obtained ... 

We have applied FCS to the measurement of local temperature in a small area in solution under laser trapping conditions. The translational diffusion coefficient of a solute molecule is dependent on the temperature of the solution. The diffusion coefficient determined by FCS can provide the temperature in the small area. This method needs no contact of the solution and the extremely dilute concentration of dye does not disturb the sample. In addition, the FCS optical set-up allows spatial resolution less than 400 nm in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis. In the following, we will present the experimental set-up, principle of the measurement, and one of the applications of this method to the quantitative evaluation of temperature elevation accompanying optical tweezers. 

Experimental methods for determining diffusion coefficients are described in the following section. The diffusion coefficients of the individual ions at infinite dilution can be calculated from the ionic conductivities by using Eqs (2.3.22), (2.4.2) and (2.4.3). The individual diffusion coefficients of the ions in the presence of an excess of indifferent electrolyte are usually found by electrochemical methods such as polarography or chronopotentiometry (see Section 5.4). Examples of diffusion coefficients determined in this way are listed in Table 2.4. Table 2.5 gives examples of the diffusion coefficients of various salts in aqueous solutions in dependence on the concentration. 

This expression contains four quantities n, D, v, and Cx. Since n is normally known for a given electrode reaction, and v can be experimentally determined with a viscometer, the slope permits one to determine the concentration of the diffusing ion, CrJ0, if its diffusivity, D is known. Conversely, one may use the slope to determine the diffusivity, D, if the bulk concentration, Cx can be measured by the other analytical methods. 

Since Cave can be experimentally determined and C0, L (tube length), and t are known, the diffusion coefficient, D, can be directly determined from this equation. 

The diffusion coefficient can be experimentally determined via this method using the equations... 

Values for G(unknown) were experimentally determined by using the previously calibrated cells, and these data were used to calculate values for D(unknown) using the cell constants. The overall average value of D(unknown) was 1.11 x 1(T5, which compares well with a reported value of 1.1 X 10 5. The coefficient of variation associated with the diffusion coefficient was 2.7% for one cell and 1.7% for a second cell. This calibration procedure thus provided information about the accuracy and precision of the method as well as the effect of temperature and concentration on the determination of the diffusion coefficient. 

It is useful to be able to estimate diffusion coefficients either to supplement mass transport data or to compare with experimentally determined values. A theoretically based method to estimate the diffusion coefficient includes upper and lower bounds for small molecules and large diffusants, respectively [40], The equation... 

M Southard, L Dias, K Himmelstein, V Stella. Experimental determinations of diffusion coefficients in dilute aqueous solution using the method of hydrodynamic stability. Pharm Res 8 1489-1491, 1991. 

For obtaining the value of the rate constant, it is desirable to determine the value of the diffusion coefficient of the metal ions or of one of the reactants (in the case of a redox couple) in the supporting electrolyte at an appropriate temperature. The value of the diffusion coefficient is experimentally determined using a McBain-Dowson cell and the King-Cathard equation, as described earlier.40... 

Table 10.4 lists the values of trap density and binding energy obtained in the quasi-ballistic model for different hydrocarbon liquids by matching the calculated mobility with experimental determination at one temperature. The experimental data have been taken from Allen (1976) and Tabata et ah, (1991). In all cases, the computed activation energy slightly exceeds the experimental value, and typically for n-hexane, 0/Eac = 0.89. Some other details of calculation will be found in Mozumder (1995a). It is noteworthy that in low-mobility liquids ballistic motion predominates. Its effect on the mobility in n-hexane is 1.74 times greater than that of diffusive trap-controlled motion. As yet, there has been no calculation of the field dependence of electron mobility in the quasi-ballistic model. 

In the special case of an ideal single catalyst pore, we have to take into account that diffusion is quicker than in a porous particle, where the tortuous nature of the pores has to be considered. Hence, the tortuosity r has to be regarded. Furthermore, the mass-related surface area AmBEX is used to calculate the surface-related rate constant based on the experimentally determined mass-related rate constant. Finally, the gas phase concentrations of the kinetic approach (Equation 12.14) were replaced by the liquid phase concentrations via the Henry coefficient. This yields the following differential equation ... 

In this paper, the kinetics and polymerization behavior of HEMA and DEGDMA initiated by a combination of DMPA (a conventional initiator) and TED (which produces DTC radicals) have been experimentally studied. Further, a free volume based kinetic model that incorporates diffusion limitations to propagation, termination by carbon-carbon radical combination and termination by carbon-DTC radical reaction has been developed to describe the polymerization behavior in these systems. In the model, all kinetic parameters except those for the carbon-DTC radical termination were experimentally determined. The agreement between the experiment and the model is very good. 

Some values for the enthalpy of formation of Schottky defects in alkali halides of formula MX that adopt the sodium chloride structure are given in Table 2.1. The experimental determination of these values (obtained mostly from diffusion or ionic conductivity data (Chapters 5 and 6) is not easy, and there is a large scatter of values in the literature. The most reliable data are for the easily purified alkali halides. Currently, values for defect formation energies are more often obtained from calculations (Section 2.10). 

The surface potential is not accessible by direct experimental measurement it can be calculated from the experimentally determined surface charge (Eqs. 3.1 - 3.3) by Eqs. (3.3a) and (3.3b). The zeta potential, calculated from electrophoretic measurements is typically lower than the surface potential, y, calculated from diffuse double layer theory. The zeta potential reflects the potential difference between the plane of shear and the bulk phase. The distance between the surface and the shear plane cannot be defined rigorously. 

A significant contribution to the uncertainty interval assigned to the O-H bond dissociation enthalpy in benzoic acid comes from the estimate of the activation enthalpy for the radical recombination. The experimental determination of this quantity is not easy because diffusion-controlled recombination rate constants are very high (109 mol-1 dm3 s 1 or larger) [180]. Therefore, most thermochemical data derived from kinetic experiments in solution rely on some similar assumptions. 

Substituting hx = 3.6 cm and K ip/w = K - into Eq. 28 Johnson et al. calculated solute lateral diffusion coefficients in stratum corneum bilayers from macroscopic permeability coefficients. Measurements with highly ionized or very hydrophilic compounds were not performed because of the possible transport along a nonlipoidal pathway. Comparison of the computed Aat values with experimentally determined data for fluorescent probes in extracted stratum corneum lipids [47] showed a highly similar curve shape. The diffusion coefficient for the lateral transport showed a bifunctional size dependence with a weaker size dependence for larger, lipophilic compounds (> 350 Da), than... 

Experimental determination of Ay for a reaction requires the rate constant k to be determined at different pressures, k is obtained as a fit parameter by the reproduction of the experimental kinetic data with a suitable model. The data are the concentration of the reactants or of the products, or any other coordinate representing their concentration, as a function of time. The choice of a kinetic model for a solid-state chemical reaction is not trivial because many steps, having comparable rates, may be involved in making the kinetic law the superposition of the kinetics of all the different, and often unknown, processes. The evolution of the reaction should be analyzed considering all the fundamental aspects of condensed phase reactions and, in particular, beside the strictly chemical transformations, also the diffusion (transport of matter to and from the reaction center) and the nucleation processes. 

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