AN EFFECT OF UREA ON ASSOCIATION AND SOLVATION OF IONS IN AQUEOUS-SOLUTIONS OF ALCOHOLS

The conductivity of NaI in ternary solvents consisting of water, alcohol and urea has been determined at 25-degrees-C in its dependence on the alcohol concentration. Viscosities and static dielectric constants of these ternary solvents have also been measured. It has been found that in all studied solvents the limiting equivalent conductivities lambda0 are smaller than those in binary solvents despite of the lower viscosities. The observed effect indicates that urea prevents the dehydration of ions and also hinders the ionic association. These phenomena have led to the conclusion that urea molecules are able to solvate alcohol clusters similar to what has been observed for micelles.