I came across a question asking me the temperature at which $\ce{D2O}$ will have maximum density. I didn't really know, so I checked the answer, and I found that the answer is $\pu{11.6^oC}$. But why ? Why is the density of $\ce{D2O}$ maximum at $\pu{11.6^oC}$? I can't find the reason anywhere...
Answer
The maximum density of $\ce{H2O}$ occurs when cooled to about $\pu{4^oC}$. At this point, the thermal motion of the molecules has slowed down enough such that water molecules can start to orient themselves in a manner more resembling that found in the expanded crystalline ice structure, and density thus starts to decrease with decreasing temperature. This pre-freezing expansion happens at a somewhat higher temperature for $\ce{D2O}$ due to the greater hydrogen bonding strength of $\ce{D2O}$ at any given temperature.
Also note that $\ce{D2O}$ freezes at about $\pu{4^oC}$, so clearly the maximum density of $\ce{D2O}$ must occur at a greater temperature than that of $\ce{H2O}$. In the case of $\ce{H2O}$, the temperature of maximum density occurs at about $\pu{4^oC}$ above it's freezing point, where for $\ce{D2O}$ the temperature of maximum density occurs at about $\pu{7^oC}$ above it's freezing point.
No comments:
Post a Comment