Competing supramolecular structures: Dielectric and rheological spectroscopy on glycerol/propanol mixtures

Significant progress has been made in recent years in understanding the dynamics of pure hydrogen-bonded systems by analyzing the spectral shape of various susceptibilities [Böhmer et al., Phys. Rep. 545, 125 (2014), Böhmer et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 132, 206101 (2024), and Böhmer et al., J. Chem. Phys. 162, 120902 (2025)]. Monohydroxy- and polyalcohols are currently considered to form transient supramolecular hydrogen-bonded structures in the form of chains, rings, and networks. This complex dynamic behavior has been identified in network-forming glycerol and chain-forming propanol by combining dielectric and light-scattering spectra. We apply these concepts to study the combined dielectric and shear rheological spectral shape of glycerol/propanol mixtures. Glycerol has two additional hydroxy groups more than propanol, which leads to significant differences in melting temperatures (ΔT m = 291–147 K = 143 K) and glass transition temperatures (ΔT g = 190–98 K = 92 K). The strong difference results in two distinct calorimetric glass transitions at a molar glycerol concentration of χ gly = 0.3, as well as a change in the shear modulus G ∞ between χ gly = 0.5 and 0.7. Performing a comprehensive analysis of the three applied experimental techniques leads to the conclusion that dielectric spectroscopy monitors the evolution of supramolecular chain and network structures and that the mechanical properties depend heavily on the formed hydrogen-bonded network. A strong dynamical heterogeneity is observed and manifests itself in two distinguishable glass transitions in dielectric spectroscopy and calorimetry. The presented chain/network mixture is dynamically highly heterogeneous when compared to the rather narrow dynamical heterogeneity in the network/network mixture water/glycerol.