Electrodilatometry

Impacts of high electric fields on liquids have been investigated by various techniques. A new method is hereby presented to show how the volume of liquid is affected by the electric field and it is known as Electrodilatometry (ED). The extent of the volume change is called the electrodilatometric effect (EDE), which measures the relative volume change per E2 and is represented by R. The signs of R can be negative or positive depending upon the liquid being investigated. ED is very sensitive to hydrogen-bonded systems and it has been applied to study simple liquids, binary mixtures of alcohols and nonionic surfactants. An emerging pattern of the signs of R, the electro-optic Kerr constant (B) and the nonlinear dielectric effect (Δε/E2) is observed and discussed. ED provides unique information on liquids which cannot be obtained otherwise. It is a promising nonlinear technique for the investigation of a variety of liquids and solutions, ranging from supramolecular assemblies to nanosystems.