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Mathematical and computational aspects of quaternary liquid mixing free energy measurement using light scattering.

ABSTRACT: We provide a mathematical and computational analysis of light scattering measurement of mixing free energies of quaternary isotropic liquids. In previous work, we analyzed mathematical and experimental design considerations for the ternary mixture case [D. Ross, G. Thurston, and C. Lutzer, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 064106 (2008); C. Wahle, D. Ross, and G. Thurston, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 034201 (2012)]. Here, we review and introduce dimension-free general formulations of the fully nonlinear partial differential equation (PDE) and its linearization, a basis for applying the method to composition spaces of any dimension, in principle. With numerical analysis of the PDE as applied to the light scattering implied by a test free energy and dielectric gradient combination, we show that values of the Rayleigh ratio within the quaternary composition tetrahedron can be used to correctly reconstruct the composition dependence of the free energy. We then extend the analysis to the case of a finite number of data points, measured with noise. In this context the linearized PDE describes the relevant diffusion of information from light scattering noise to the free energy. The fully nonlinear PDE creates a special set of curves in the composition tetrahedron, collections of which form characteristics of the nonlinear and linear PDEs, and we show that the information diffusion has a time-like direction along the positive normals to these curves. With use of Monte Carlo simulations of light scattering experiments, we find that for a modest laboratory light scattering setup, about 100-200 samples and 100 s of measurement time are enough to be able to measure the mixing free energy over the entire quaternary composition tetrahedron, to within an L(2) error norm of 10(-3). The present method can help quantify thermodynamics of quaternary isotropic liquid mixtures.

SUBMITTER: Wahle CW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3411595 | biostudies-other | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Project description:We extend methods of solution of a light scattering partial differential equation for the free energy of mixing to apply to connected, isotropic ternary liquid composition domains that do not touch all three binary axes. To do so we mathematically analyze the problem of inferring needed Dirichlet boundary data, and solving for the free energy, with use of hypothetical static light scattering measurements that correspond to dielectric composition gradient vectors that have distinct directions. The physical idea behind the technique is that contrasting absorption properties of mixture components can result in such distinctly directed dielectric composition gradient vectors, due to their differing wavelength dependences of dielectric response. At suitably chosen wavelengths, contrasting light scattering efficiency patterns in the ternary composition triangle can then correspond to the same underlying free energy, and enlarge the scope of available information about the free energy, as shown here. We show how to use distinctly directed dielectric gradients to measure the free energy on both straight lines and curves within the ternary composition triangle, so as to provide needed Dirichlet conditions for light scattering partial differential equation solution. With use of Monte Carlo simulations of noisy light scattering data, we provide estimates of the overall system measurement time and sample spacing needed to determine the free energy to a desired degree of accuracy, for various angles between the assumed dielectric gradient vectors, and indicate how the measurement time depends on instrumental throughput parameters. The present analysis methods provide a way to use static light scattering to measure, directly, mixing free energies of many systems that contain such restricted liquid domains, including aqueous solutions of biological macromolecules, micellar mixtures and microemulsions, and many small molecule systems that are important in separation technology.

Project description:We investigate the possibility of using light scattering data in the single-phase regions of a ternary liquid mixture phase diagram to infer ternary mixture coexistence curves, and to infer tie lines joining the compositions of isotropic liquid phases in thermodynamic equilibrium. Previous analyses of a nonlinear light scattering partial differential equation (LSPDE) show that it provides for reconstruction of ternary [D. Ross, G. Thurston, and C. Lutzer, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 064106 (2008); C. Wahle, D. Ross, and G. Thurston, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 034201 (2012)] and quaternary [C. Wahle, D. Ross, and G. Thurston, J. Chem. Phys. 137, 034202 (2012)] mixing free energies from light scattering data, and that if the coexistence curves are already known, it can also yield ternary tie lines and triangles [D. Ross, G. Thurston, and C. Lutzer, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 064106 (2008)]. Here, we show that the LSPDE can be used more generally, to infer phase boundaries and tie lines from light scattering data in the single-phase region, without prior knowledge of the coexistence curve, if the single-phase region is connected. The method extends the fact that the reciprocal light scattering intensity approaches zero at the thermodynamic spinodal. Expressing the free energy as the sum of ideal and excess parts leads to a natural family of Padé approximants for the reciprocal Rayleigh ratio. To test the method, we evaluate the single-phase reciprocal Rayleigh ratio resulting from the mean-field, regular solution model on a fine grid. We then use a low-order approximant to extrapolate the reciprocal Rayleigh ratio into metastable and unstable regions. In the metastable zone, the extrapolation estimates light scattering prior to nucleation and growth of a new phase. In the unstable zone, the extrapolation produces a negative function that in the present context is a computational convenience. The original and extrapolated reciprocal light scattering are jointly used as input to solving the LSPDE to deduce the mixing free energy and its convex hull. When projected onto the composition triangle, the boundary of the convexified part of the free energy is the phase boundary, and lines on the convexified region along which the second directional derivative is zero are the tie lines. We find that the tie lines and phase boundaries so deduced agree well with their exact values. This work is a step toward developing methods for inferring phase boundaries from real light scattering intensities measured with noise, from mixtures having compositions on a coarser grid.

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Mathematical and computational aspects of quaternary liquid mixing free energy measurement using light scattering.

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