Measurement and modelling of thermodynamic and physical properties for the molecular interaction of binary mixtures of Propylbenzene with acetone, isooctane and 1-butanol

Physical properties such as density, speed of sound, and refractive index are fundamental in the computation of excess properties of chemical mixtures. This gives great insight into the interaction within the mixtures and the prediction of behaviour of the chemical systems. However, not all of these data are readily available for all chemical systems. In this study, the physical properties of propylbenzene, a very important chemical with various industrial uses, were measured at 298.15, 308.15 and 318.15 K with acetone, isooctane and 1-butanol as binary pairs. The measured properties were used to calculate the excess properties, which were regressed with the Redlich-Kister (RK) Equation and an artificial neural network (ANN). The study provides new sets of experimental data, and its findings suggest that the intermolecular interactions of propylbenzene binary systems are stronger in the acetone pair, strong in the 1-butanol pair and weak in the isooctane pair, and the RK and ANN models adequately fit the experimental data, but the performance of the ANN model surpasses that of RK. The data and models in this study can be used in the study of propylbenzene as a fuel blend involving isooctane and 1-butanol, as well as its interactions with acetone as a solvent. • Thermodynamic Properties measurement of density, speed of sound and refractive index. • Excess properties calculation of excess volume, deviation in isentropic compressibility, deviation in refractive index. • Redlich-Kister (RK) Equation and an artificial neural network (ANN) modelling. • Moleculecular interaction of propylbenzene in acetone, 1-butanol and isooctane.