Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Mixtures

Summary

Thermodynamic properties of liquid mixtures—such as density, viscosity, refractive index, compressibility and mixing enthalpies—govern the design and optimisation of processes across chemical, pharmaceutical and energy sectors. Deviations from ideal behaviour arise from molecular interactions that depend on temperature, pressure and composition. Excess properties quantify these deviations and provide insight into enthalpic and entropic contributions. Equations of state, activity‐coefficient models and empirical mixing rules serve to predict both volumetric and transport properties. Advances in high‐precision measurement techniques and modelling frameworks have improved the reliability of property databases and enabled the capture of subtle synergistic or antagonistic interactions in complex hydrocarbon, polar and biomass‐derived systems. These developments underpin the efficient formulation of fuels, solvents and reactive media, and contribute to sustainable process intensification.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Mixtures publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in thermodynamic properties of liquid mixtures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Excess property: A measure of deviation in a thermodynamic quantity (such as volume or enthalpy) of a real mixture from that predicted for an ideal mixture at the same conditions.

Equation of state: A mathematical relation between pressure, temperature and volume (or density) used to describe the thermodynamic behaviour of pure fluids or mixtures.

Activity coefficient: A dimensionless factor that quantifies non-ideality in the chemical potential of a component within a mixture.

Isentropic compressibility: The relative volume change of a fluid under pressure variation at constant entropy, related to sound velocity.

Arrhenius viscosity equation: An expression that describes the temperature dependence of viscosity via an activation energy and a pre-exponential factor.

References

  1. Chromatic dispersion and thermal coefficients of hygroscopic liquids: 5 glycols and glycerol. Scientific Data (2023).
  2. Viscosities and Densities of Binary and Ternary Mixtures of Aliphatic and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons: Pyrene +1-Methylnaphthalene + Dodecane at T = (293.15 to 343.15) K. Experiment and Modeling. Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling (2024).
  3. Correlation analysis of the relationship between Arrhenius viscosity parameters in Binary Liquid Mixtures. South African Journal of Chemical Engineering (2023).

About these summaries

This Nature Research Intelligence Topic summary is created with the cited references and a large language model. We take care to ground generated text with facts, and have systems in place to gain human feedback on the overall quality of the process in line with our AI principles. We strive to create accurate and useful summaries for people unfamiliar with the research topic and that supports this goal. These pages are a beta release and will be updated as we learn how best to help people gain value from a research topic summary.

Nature Strategy Reports
Turn complex research questions into confident strategic decisions 

When you're under pressure to set direction, justify investment, or understand your competitive position, you need more than raw data — you need trusted insights you can act on.

  • Benchmark your performance against global peers using robust, methodologically sound analysis.

  • Combine quantitative metrics with qualitative expert insight to uncover strengths, gaps and emerging opportunities.

  • Gain tailored, decision-ready recommendations aligned to your strategic priorities.

Talk to us to learn more about our data dashboards and bespoke strategy reports.

Nature Masterclasses
Grow research skills, confidence and careers with training built for every stage of the research lifecycle.

Developed with Nature Portfolio journal Editors and internationally renowned experts. Discover three ways to learn:

  • Self-paced, online courses in convenient bite-sized units, covering key skills across scientific writing, publishing, grant writing, data analysis, and more.

  • Expert trainer-led workshops with hands-on exercises and real-time feedback across core research skills, delivered via interactive group sessions.

  • Editor-led workshops combining core principles in writing and publishing, personalised 1:1 feedback from Nature Portfolio Editors and hands-on exercises.

Explore course catalogues and workshop agendas, enquire about the options or request institutional pricing.