Linking the dielectric Debye process in 2-ethyl-1-hexanol to its density fluctuations

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that the dielectric Debye process in 2-ethyl-1-hexanol is linked to density fluctuations, suggesting a conventional liquid-state explanation for this phenomenon.

Contribution

It provides the first evidence connecting the dielectric Debye process in mono-alcohols to density fluctuations within liquid-state theory.

Findings

Dielectric Debye process is coupled to density fluctuations.

Bulk modulus spectral shape matches shear modulus.

Supramolecular structures influence both dielectric and mechanical properties.

Abstract

We provide the first evidence that the puzzling dielectric Debye process observed in mono-alcohols is coupled to density fluctuations. The results open up for an explanation of the Debye process within the framework of conventional liquid-state theory. The spectral shape of dynamical bulk modulus of 2-ethyl-1-hexanol is nearly identical to that of the shear modulus, and thus the supramolecular structures believed to be responsible for the slow dielectric Debye process are manifested in the bulk modulus in the same way as in the shear modulus.