Enthalpy of mixing

The enthalpy of mixing (or heat of mixing or excess enthalpy) is the enthalpy liberated or absorbed from a substance upon mixing. When a substance or compound is combined with any other substance or compound the enthalpy of mixing is the consequence of the new interactions between the two substances or compounds. This enthalpy if released exothermically can in an extreme case cause an explosion. The enthalpy of mixing (or heat of mixing or excess enthalpy) is the enthalpy liberated or absorbed from a substance upon mixing. When a substance or compound is combined with any other substance or compound the enthalpy of mixing is the consequence of the new interactions between the two substances or compounds. This enthalpy if released exothermically can in an extreme case cause an explosion. Enthalpy of mixing can often be ignored in calculations for mixtures where other heat terms exist, or in cases where the mixture is ideal. The sign convention is the same as for enthalpy of reaction: when the enthalpy of mixing is positive, mixing is endothermic while negative enthalpy of mixing signifies exothermic mixing. In ideal mixtures the enthalpy of mixing is null. In non-ideal mixtures the thermodynamic activity of each component is different from its concentration by multiplying with the activity coefficient. One approximation for calculating the heat of mixing is Flory–Huggins solution theory for polymer solutions. For a liquid, enthalpy of mixing can be defined as follows H ( m i x t u r e ) = Δ H m i x + ∑ x i H i {displaystyle H_{(mixture)}=Delta H_{mix}+sum x_{i}H_{i}}