Calculation of the Isobaric Heat Capacities of the Liquid and Solid Phase of Organic Compounds at and around 298.15 K Based on Their "True" Molecular Volume

New QSPRs for Liquid Heat Capacity

Quantitative Structure-Property Relationships (QSPRs) have found applications in many areas of chemistry and engineering as effective prediction methods. QSPRs use molecular descriptors to simplify complex molecular properties to a single value and have been used extensively for constant value properties. Liquid heat capacity (c_p^l) is another property where QSPRs can be helpful prediction tools. Researchers have shown strong correlation between the c_p^l and various molecular descriptors, but these predictions are limited to a single temperature, usually 298.15 K. Additionally, other QSPRs have had problems with oxygen-containing functional groups. In this work, QSPRs for c_p^l at various temperatures were developed using data selected from the DIPPR database using a novel search method. This method improves on existing QSPRs for c_p^l by using unique descriptors but does not overcome the issue of oxygen-containing species.

Seeking Solvation: Exploring the Role of Protein Hydration in Silk Gelation

The mechanism by which arthropods (e.g., spiders and many insects) can produce silk fibres from an aqueous protein (fibroin) solution has remained elusive, despite much scientific investigation. In this work, we used several techniques to explore the role of a hydration shell bound to the fibroin in native silk feedstock (NSF) from Bombyx mori silkworms. Small angle X-ray and dynamic light scattering (SAXS and DLS) revealed a coil size (radius of gyration or hydrodynamic radius) around 12 nm, providing considerable scope for hydration. Aggregation in dilute aqueous solution was observed above 65 °C, matching the gelation temperature of more concentrated solutions and suggesting that the strength of interaction with the solvent (i.e., water) was the dominant factor. Infrared (IR) spectroscopy indicated decreasing hydration as the temperature was raised, with similar changes in hydration following gelation by freezing or heating. It was found that the solubility of fibroin in water or aqueous salt solutions could be described well by a relatively simple thermodynamic model for the stability of the protein hydration shell, which suggests that the affected water is enthalpically favoured but entropically penalised, due to its reduced (vibrational or translational) dynamics. Moreover, while the majority of this investigation used fibroin from B. mori, comparisons with published work on silk proteins from other silkworms and spiders, globular proteins and peptide model systems suggest that our findings may be of much wider significance.

Calculation of the Vapour Pressure of Organic Molecules by Means of a Group-Additivity Method and Their Resultant Gibbs Free Energy and Entropy of Vaporization at 298.15 K

The calculation of the vapour pressure of organic molecules at 298.15 K is presented using a commonly applicable computer algorithm based on the group-additivity method. The basic principle of this method rests on the complete breakdown of the molecules into their constituting atoms, further characterized by their immediate neighbour atoms. The group contributions are calculated by means of a fast Gauss-Seidel fitting algorithm using the experimental data of 2036 molecules from literature. A ten-fold cross-validation procedure has been carried out to test the applicability of this method, which confirmed excellent quality for the prediction of the vapour pressure, expressed in log(pa), with a cross-validated correlation coefficient Q2 of 0.9938 and a standard deviation σ of 0.26. Based on these data, the molecules' standard Gibbs free energy ΔG°vap has been calculated. Furthermore, using their enthalpies of vaporization, predicted by an analogous group-additivity approach published earlier, the standard entropy of vaporization ΔS°vap has been determined and compared with experimental data of 1129 molecules, exhibiting excellent conformance with a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.9598, a standard error σ of 8.14 J/mol/K and a medium absolute deviation of 4.68%.

Calculation of the Isobaric Heat Capacities of the Liquid and Solid Phase of Organic Compounds at 298.15K by Means of the Group-Additivity Method

The calculation of the isobaric heat capacities of the liquid and solid phase of molecules at 298.15 K is presented, applying a universal computer algorithm based on the atom-groups additivity method, using refined atom groups. The atom groups are defined as the molecules’ constituting atoms and their immediate neighbourhood. In addition, the hydroxy group of alcohols are further subdivided to take account of the different intermolecular interactions of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. The evaluation of the groups’ contributions has been carried out by solving a matrix of simultaneous linear equations by means of the iterative Gauss–Seidel balancing calculus using experimental data from literature. Plausibility has been tested immediately after each fitting calculation using a 10-fold cross-validation procedure. For the heat capacity of liquids, the respective goodness of fit of the direct (r²) and the cross-validation calculations (q²) of 0.998 and 0.9975, and the respective standard deviations of 8.24 and 9.19 J/mol/K, together with a mean absolute percentage deviation (MAPD) of 2.66%, based on the experimental data of 1111 compounds, proves the excellent predictive applicability of the present method. The statistical values for the heat capacity of solids are only slightly inferior: for r² and q², the respective values are 0.9915 and 0.9874, the respective standard deviations are 12.21 and 14.23 J/mol/K, and the MAPD is 4.74%, based on 734 solids. The predicted heat capacities for a series of liquid and solid compounds have been directly compared to those received by a complementary method based on the "true" molecular volume and their deviations have been elucidated.