General Chemistry II

Fall 2020

Lab 5: Phase diagram of phenol water system, determination of

critical solution temperature
Solubility
Is a chemical property referring to the ability for a given substance,
the solute, to dissolve in a solvent. It is measured in terms of the
maximum amount of solute dissolved in a solvent at equilibrium.
The resulting solution is called a saturated solution.

Miscibility
Liquid solute to dissolve in a liquid solvent.

Immiscibility
Two substances are not capable of combining to form a
homogeneous mixture.

Partially Miscible
A pair of liquids is considered partially miscible if there is a set of
compositions over which the liquids will form a two-phase liquid
system.
Factors affecting solubility
•Temperature. Basically, solubility increases with temperature.
•Polarity. In most cases solutes dissolve in solvents that have a similar
polarity.
•Pressure. Solid and liquid solutes.
•Molecular size.
•Stirring increases the speed of dissolving.

Temperature & Miscibility relation

In general, both liquids become more soluble with increasing of
temperature until reach one critical solution temperature(CST).
Example: Phenol-Water
Opposite case for water and trimethylamine. Below a certain
temperature it becomes totally miscible.
Composition-Phase
Single component systems, composition is not important
Mixtures with two components, the composition is of vital important

Phase Behavior of Phenol‐Water System & CST

CST is a very important parameter in the phase diagram of the partially
miscible binary system like phenol‐water system. It is defined as the
point (temperature) above which two immiscible liquids are completely
miscible at any composition.

Temperature Vs composition diagrams

are for two-phase compositions at a
variety of temperatures and
compositions.
Phenol-Water
Phenol is partial miscible with water and at certain temperature and
certain concentration, one liquid phase will obtain. Two layers become
identical.

Procedure:
Big hard test tube -> Clean and wipe -> 3g Phenol -> Set thermometer ->
Set Beaker(Tap Water) -> Burette(Dist. Water) -> 3mL Water -> Melt Phenol
-> Start heating -> T for clear solution -> T for turbid solution -> 1mL water
every time till 20mL -> Draw T Vs Composition -> Find out CST

Sl. Volume of Volume Composition of phenol in Clear Turbidity Average

No. phenol of water percentage solution oC

(a) (b) ()% temp. oC

01
02
03