CHEMISTRY IA

AIM : Investigating the effect of dipole moment on Enthalpy of combustion

and Specific Energy.

INTRODUCTION :

Global liquid fuel consumption has been increasing tremendously in recent years. The forecast
by various dignitaries in the field predicts an average increase of 1.4 million barrels/day in 2024
and further 1.2 million barrels/day in 2025. This statement can be corroborated by image 1:

This proves our need for

the fuel, to increase its
production if at all possible,
also, forcing us to find
adequate alternatives for
the same. Although
Butanol and Diethyl ether
have been hypothesized to
be an excellent alternative
for liquid, we neglect the
possibility of

Image 1. Report on the

production/consumption of liquid fuels

the addition of these hydrocarbons to the existing fuels to increase their efficiency.
Not only do hydrocarbons have low carbon density and hence lesser carbon footprints when
mixed with fuels, they are also cost efficient leading the countries to mitigate both their
economic and climate concerns.

I am rather intrigued by this topic specifically since I have done quite a bit of research on the
field by myself. The topic for my PSOW in the subject under my diploma, was to find out the
enthalpy of combustion of ethanol. This led me to an article on how ethanol is the ‘up and
coming fuel’. Given the report on the huge world consumption of fuels, we need to consider the
possibility of its exhaustion as a fuel. So this research provided a perfect opportunity to further
delve into hydrocarbons, while also studying the effects of the dipole moment. Enthalpy of
combustion is a critical factor in the selection of a fuel further establishing the right one for motor
vehicles. So it provides a perfect research area to delve on further.
RESEARCH QUESTION :

To what extent does the effect of dipole moment affect the enthalpy of combustion of specific
alcohols?

BACKGROUND INFORMATION :

This study involves the use of certain chemicals and it was important to comprehend both its
physical and chemical attributes as well its conductive feasibility in order to draw important
conclusions from the conducted experiment. Consequently, all pertinent theories and
information employed in the research has been elucidated below :

Enthalpy of combustion (ΔHc ) :

Enthalpy of combustion is defined as the process where one mole of a substance is completely
burnt out in the presence of excess air/oxygen. It is denoted by (Hc).
Standard enthalpy change is per mole of reactant or product depending on the specific energy
being defined. Also denoted as ΔHϴ it is measured under following conditions :
- A pressure of 100 kPa
- A concentration of 1 mol dm-3 for all solutions.
- All substances to be in their standard states.
When ΔHc is negative, the reaction is exothermic while in few cases, where the energy transfer
occurs from the surroundings to the system, ΔHc is positive and the reaction is endothermic.
Enthalpy of combustion is a calculated value that can be derived in multiple ways, two of which
are stated below, have been used in the course of the experiment :

Heat change (q) = mass (m) X specific heat capacity (c) X temperature change
(ΔT) ……equation 1

The specific heat capacity (in equation 1) is a formula to theoretically determine the amount of
energy required to increase the temperature of the mass/unit of a substance.

Essential terms :
Dipole moment - It primarily occurs when there is a separation of charge generated from
differences in electronegativity values. The larger the difference between the two atoms, the
greater is the dipole moment. It is a measure of the polarity of the molecule. In the course of the
research, the dipole moment when we dilute the hydrocarbons with water will be evaluated. The
following figure 2, showcases the dipole moment of hydrocarbons or ethers with charge indices
before dilution.
Mole fraction - A unit of concentration, where the total number of moles is divided by the no. of
moles in the solution.

Essential topics :
Ethanol
 Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from a combination of plant materials, known as ‘biomass’.
The simplest form of its molecular formula (empirical formula) is C2H6O. It is a
clear, colorless liquid that is also known as ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol and EtOH. It has the
same chemical formula of CH3CH2OH irrespective of its combination. The molecular structure of
this alcohol is shown in figure 3.

This alcohol has the potential of being an alternative to the fuel for its high enthalpy of
combustion of -1367 kj mol-1. It also has a higher octane number than gasoline providing
premium blending properties. Octane number is the simple average of the octane rating
methods.
The enthalpy of combustion reaction of ethanol is :
C2H5OH + 3O2 → 2CO2 + 3H2O + heat. equation 2

Cyclohexane
Cyclohexane is a colorless mobile liquid that is slightly soluble in water. It comprises a ring of 6
carbon atoms and is an alicyclic hydrocarbon. The molecular formula of cyclohexane is C6H12. In
the chair conformation of cyclohexane, the dipole moment is considered to be 0.
Image 1. Chair conformation of cyclohexane.

The combustion reaction of cyclohexane is : C6H12 + 9O2 — 6CO2 + 6H2O. equation 3.

Specific heat energy : It is the heat required by a substance of 1 gram to increase its
temperature by 1 degree celsius.

VARIABLES:

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES UNIT METHOD OF CONTROLLING

Mole fraction of – –
ethanol/cyclohexane

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

Specific heat energy (J/g°C) –

CONTROLLED VARIABLES

Spirit lamp – The same apparatus was used

throughout the experiment

Length of the wick cm (centi-meters) The same apparatus was used

throughout the experiment

Temperature change celsius (℃) The change of temperature was

measured using a thermometer
and a careful watch was
maintained on the wick till the
desired temperature was reached.
The average temperature
maintained was 20℃.

Distance (between lamp and cm (centi-meters) The same set-up was used
calorimeter) throughout the experiment

Calorimeter – –

Mass of the water heated g (grams) The mass of the water was kept
constant throughout the
experiment

Volume of the solution mL (milliliters) The solution’s volume was kept

constant at 20 mL.

UNCONTROLLED VARIABLES

Room temperature celsius (℃) The value was uncontrolled,

however an average of 22℃ was
recorded.

Pressure Pa (pascal) Throughout the experiment an

atmospheric pressure of 101325
was maintained, however during
various situations it might have
been subject to differences.

Heat lost due to surroundings Joules (J) –

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

Chemicals required :
 - Ethanol
- Cyclohexane
- Distilled water

Apparatus required :

Apparatus Quantity Uncertainty

Spirit lamp 1 –

Filter paper 5 –

Tripod stand 1 –

Calorimeter 1 –

Droppers 4 –

Burette 2 ± 0.05

Filter paper 5 –

Burette holder 1 –

Funnel 3 –

Measuring cylinder 4 (10 mL) ± 0.05

Measuring cylinder 2 (100 mL) ± 0.5

Thermometer 1 ± 0.05℃

Digital Balance 2 ± 0.001

Wooden blocks 2 –

PROCEDURE :

- The mass of an empty spirit lamp was measured using two digital balances for reducing
uncertainties.
- Then in 10 mL measuring cylinders, 20 mL spirit was divided equally.
- The insides of the spirit lamp was washed and cleaned using the spirit for the
experiment and the 20 mL with different concentrations of spirit was poured into it with
the help of a funnel.
- 100 mL of water from a measuring cylinder was poured into the calorimeter.
- Then the set-up was established, with the calorimeter with water put securely on a tripod
stand and the thermometer with the help of a burette holder was dipped in the
calorimeter 5 centimeters deep.
- The initial temperature of the water was then recorded.
 - In order to maintain a minimum distance between the calorimeter and the spirit lamp,
two wooden blocks were placed underneath the tripod stand.

- The spirit lamp just before lightning was measured twice on digital balances and then
burned below the calorimeter.
- While burning, the 100 mL of water was constantly stirred with a copper stirrer to ensure
the ideal complete heating of the water.
- The spirit was blown off until ΔT of the sample water reached 20℃.
- The cyclohexane sample in the spirit lamp was changed after each experiment with
different level of concentration of dilutions :
1) 0 mL - cyclohexane, 20 mL - ethanol
2) 2 mL - cyclohexane, 18 mL - ethanol
3) 4 mL - cyclohexane, 16 mL - ethanol
4) 6 mL - cyclohexane, 14 mL - ethanol
5) 8 mL - cyclohexane, 12 mL - ethanol
6) 10 mL - cyclohexane, 10 mL - ethanol

EXPERIMENT SETUP :

Image 3. The experimental set-up for all the lab work conducted

SAFETY MEASURES AND DISPOSAL OF CHEMICALS :

- All the warning and safety sheets made available to the school about the chemicals were
thoroughly read and prosecuted.
- A glove, lab coat and safety goggles were worn at all times during the experiment.
- The experiment was carried out under the lab assistant’s supervision in the school’s
chemistry lab safely.
- Alcohols and all other flammable substances were kept covered throughout the
experiment when not in use to avoid inhalation of the substances having potential for
unconsciousness or skin irritation.
- After each trial, hands were thoroughly washed to avoid chemical ingestion of any sort.
 - The hydrocarbons used in the experiment are extremely hazardous to human life, hence
standard disposal procedures were carried out to prevent any potential environmental
concerns.

QUALITATIVE RAW DATA :

- Each mixture after burnt produces a blush-like flame and releases a large amount of
energy.
- The heating of the calorimeter above the spirit lamp forms a black soot from carbon
dioxide (CO) at the bottom of the calorimeter.

QUANTITATIVE RAW DATA :

Length of the wick = 1.0 ± 0.1 cm

Distance between the lamp and the calorimeter = 0.4 ± 0.1 cm

CALCULATIONS USED IN THE EXPERIMENT :

Change∈mass∈(Trial 1+2+3)
Average change in mass :
Total no . of trials

Estimated value−Actual Value

Percentage error calculation : ×100
Actual value

Standard deviation : This was carried out by the STDEV function in the ms excel sheet.

The weight of the substance∈thecalculation

No. of moles :
Molar mass

Mass of water/cyclohexane : Volume (g or mL) × Density (g or mL)

Enthalpy of combustion :

ΔHc = - q (where q = mcΔT)

Q
Specific heat energy : c = mΔT

SAMPLE DATA :

CYCLOHEXA MASS OF MASS OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF TOTAL MOLE AVERAGE STANDARD

NE CONTENT CYCLOHEX ETHANOL MOLES OF MOLES OF NUMBER FRACTION CHANGE IN DEVIATION
ANE (g) (g) (± 1.98 ﹪) CYCLOHEXANE ETHANOL OF CYCLOHEXA MASS
(± 1.98 ﹪) (± 1.98 ﹪) (± 1.98 ﹪) MOLES NE (± 0.006g)
(± 4 ﹪) (± 8 ﹪)

0±0.1 0.000 15.780 0.000 0.342 0.342 0.000 0.975 ± 0.0152

0.006

2±0.1 1.556 14.202 0.015 0.308 0.323 0.047 0.898 ± 0.0062

0.006

4±0.1 3.112 12.624 0.031 0.274 0.305 0.101 0.889 ± 0.0019

0.006

6±0.1 4.668 11.046 0.046 0.239 0.286 0.162 0.874 ± 0.0010

0.006

8±0.1 6.224 9.468 0.062 0.205 0.267 0.232 0.856 ± 0.0005

0.006

10±0.1 7.780 7.890 0.077 0.171 0.248 0.312 0.847 ± 0.0002

0.006

20±0.1 15.560 0.000 0.155 0.000 0.155 1.000 0.796 ± 0.0021

0.006

ANALYSIS :
The cyclohexane content, mole fraction of cyclohexane, mole fraction of ethanol and the
specific heat energy of cyclohexane-ethanol combination.

CYCLOHEXANE Mole fraction of Mole fraction of SPECIFIC HEAT

CONTENT (± 0.1 mL) cyclohexane (± 0.5) ethanol (± 0.5) ENERGY
(± 0.100) (J)

0 0 1 0

2 0.046 0.953 6345.0568

4 0.101 0.898 12690.1136

6 0.161 0.838 19035.1704

8 0.232 0.767 25380.2272

10 0.310 0.689 31725.2840

Graph 1. Specific heat energy with change in mole fraction of cyclohexane, ethanol and
dipole moment.
(note : the numbers highlighted in blue determine increments in dipole moment and not the
actual values)

Analyzing this graph we understand that, as the mixture of ethanol and cyclohexane, the net
dipole moment of the whole system would depend on the concentrations of each component
and their relative dipole moments. Ethanol has a very strong dipole moment because of the
polarity of its OH group and cyclohexane is rather not polar with negligible dipole moment.
However, when the amount of ethanol is diluted and the level of cyclohexane is promoted in the
solution, the resultant dipole moment of the solution will tend to zero. It is because, while
cyclohexane itself is nonpolar, it does not contribute much to the overall polar character of the
mixture. Consequently, as more non-polar cyclohexanes are added and the polar ethanols are
diluted, the total polarity of the mixture goes down, resulting in lowering of the dipole moment.

The relationship between specific heat capacity and dipole moment can be understood this way.
Under such conditions (molecules which have dipole moment as a measure of the distance
between the positive and the negative charges), the specific heat generally goes down with the
dipole moment diminishing. This is because substances with weaker dipole moments tend to
require less heat energy to raise their temperature. However, under this experiment we find that
as the dipole moment decreases, the specific heat capacity increases. This could be due to
following reasons :

- Specific Heat Capacity: The heat capacity for specific heat is the quantity of heat energy
that is required to warm up one kilogram of substance, at a constant pressure, by one
degree Celsius. What makes a dipole moment different from polarization is that a dipole
 moment is an intrinsic property of the substance and does not change depending on an
external dipole.
- Effect of Dipole Moment: The orientable dipole moment is the polarity measure of a
molecule, which in turn influences their ability to form bonds with other molecules. In a
mixture of things like ethanol (polar, with a dipole moment) and cyclohexane (non polar,
with a negligible dipole moment), the dipole moment doesn't come right away with
deciding the specific heat capacity of the mixture that contains both of these substances.
- Changes in Specific Heat Capacity: Ethanol and cyclohexane have different specific
heat capacity values and this would change depending on which one makes the major
portion in the mixture. By and large replacing a substance with the specific heat which is
higher (e.g. ethanol) in a mixture must result in the increased specific heat capacity of
the mixture and again taking away a substance with lower specific heat (methanol) will
lower the overall specific heat capacity.

To summarize, the solution specific heat capacity for the ethanol and cyclohexane mixture
largely depends on the components' proportions in the mixture and their individual specific heat
capacities. The dipole moment thus decreases due to a decrease in ethanol concentrations and
an increase in cyclohexane concentrations.

ERROR PROPAGATION :
Percentage errors of mass and volume can be calculated using the formula :
Estimated value−Actual Value
Percentage error = ×100
Actual value
The error propagation in mass was calculated to be 0.001 %
(approx). Given the resulting value is rather negligible, the error propagated through mass was
considered to be 0.

The average percentage error of mass, moles and mole fraction of all liquids was calculated to
be 1.98 % (approximation).

CONCLUSION :
The experiment today compared the enthalpy changes in 2mL successive trends in ethanol-
cyclohexane combination.The graphs plotted from the derived data showed the negative impact
of dilution on the spirit - the enthalpy of combustion and specific energy of ethanol. Bond
breaking as we know is exothermic, while bond breaking is endothermic. Thence, an increased
bond breaking could be facilitated with an increased dipole moment on the reactant sides. This
would lead to more energy released during bond breaking, while energy requirements for bond
making remain the same.
Finally, the result suggests that increasing the dipole moment of a fuel could potentially yield
changes in specific heat energy, however it may not always be accounted for. The experiment
and report could be layered with the testing of other fuels, to further generalize the finding.
Evaluation :
STRENGTHS and LIMITATIONS OF THE EXPERIMENT:
Detailed procedures were carried out for a more constructive analysis. A lot of trials were
conducted to reduce any human errors that entail any scientific experiment, few errors that did
however occur could be eliminated in the future by the following ways :

Limitations Type of error Suggestions for improvement

Extremely volatile substances Random error More modified methods

were used in the course of should be maintained in
the experiment, hence some future to observe and
measure evaporated volumes
amount might have
of substances due to their
evaporated affecting the volatility.
readings of the result

The vaporization level for Random error More modified methods

some of the spirits used in should be utilized in future to
the experiment was observe the changes.
extremely less, hence during
the inflammatory process
evaporation might have
occurred leading to additional
mass loss.

The calorimeter might have Systematic error A calorimeter with better

over calculated the values for accuracy should be used and
mass loss during the more attention should be paid
to the steps leading up to
experiment.
mass calculations.

The length of the wick was Random error New wicks with the same
measured but some of it was measurements should be
burnt each time leading to a used for each trial.
reduction in the process of
mass loss.

The point of the experiment Systematic error That might be an

was to try it on specific overgeneralization, for a
alcohols only. more rich experiment varied
alcohols should be used.

A defined analysis Random error The experiment would have a

rather accurate analysis if the
 presence of the cyclohexane
was confirmed.

FURTHER SCOPE : The evaluation could be more refined if various other hydrocarbons were
also explored under the experiment. Other factors affecting the enthalpy of combustion could
also be investigated. A comparative study with other fuels could also be conducted to evaluate
the effectiveness of these chemicals as an alternative.

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