Collisional polarization in mixtures of non-polar liquids

Abstract

Submillimetre dielectric absorption has been measured in benzene, p-xylene, toluene, mesitylene, carbon tetrachloride and in mixtures of these hydrocarbons with carbon tetrachloride. The absorption is ascribed to a polarization during molecular collisions. The collisional polarization is greatest, and the collision frequency lowest, when there is the strongest charge transfer interaction between two molecules in proximity. The collision frequencies observed for a homologous series correlate with the rates calculated using dilute gas considerations compounded with the slope of the repulsive pair interaction potential at the equivalent hard sphere separation.