Phase Transitions of Urea Adducts with n-Paraffins under High Pressure

Abstract

The temperatures of the phase transition between orthorhombic and hexagonal structures of the urea adducts with n-paraffins, n-C_nH_2n+2 (n = 14–44), have been measured by differential thermal analysis for the pressure range up to 250MPa. The transition temperatures increase both with pressure and with the number of carbon atoms of the guest paraffins. The increasing rate of the transition temperatures with pressure is about half of that of pure paraffin crystals. The pressure dependences of the lattice constants have also been measured by X-ray diffraction. The specific volume changes discontinuously at the transition pressure; the result suggests that the phase transition of the urea adducts with n-paraffins is a first-order one. Furthermore, the specific volume change at the transition pressure decreases with the number of carbon atoms of the guest paraffins; 3.4 × 10-⁶ m³/Kg for n = 16 and 2.1 × 10-⁶ m³/Kg for n = 44.

Key Words:

• n-paraffin
• urea adduct
• phase transition
• high pressure
• x-ray diffraction
• differential thermal analysis