Heat capacities of D-mannitol and D-sorbitol in water, dimethyl sulfoxide and formamide

Abstract

Partial molar heat capacities at infinite dilution, C^∞_{p, 2} have been determined calorimetrically for D-mannitol and D-sorbitol in water, dimethyl sulfoxide and formamide, at 298.15 K. The C^∞_{p, 2} values obtained, which are similar for the three solvents, are much higher than the heat capacities for the pure compounds. The large ΔC^∞_p values for the dissolution process are believed to be partly due to the existence of several rotamers in solution. Sorbitol seems to be more sensitive than mannitol to specific solvent effects.