Thermodiffusion in binary liquids: the role of irreversibility

Alois Würger (1)

1 LOMA - Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine

We study thermal diffusion in binary mixtures in the framework of non-equilibrium thermodynamics. Our formal result displays the role of partial enthalpies hi and Onsager's generalized mobilities Ai. The ratio A1/A2 provides a measure for the irreversible character of thermal diffusion. Comparison with experimental data on benzene, cyclohexane, toluene and n-alkanes shows that irreversibility is essential for thermal diffusion, and in particular for the isotope effect.

Domaines: Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Alois Würger. Thermodiffusion in binary liquids: the role of irreversibility. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2014, 26 (3), pp.035105 (1-5). ⟨10.1088/0953-8984/26/3/035105⟩. ⟨hal-00917630⟩