Abstract:
<p align="justify"> The partition of several n-alkanols, from methanol to n-nonanol, between n-hexane and water and between n-hexane and water containing 20 % (w/v) urea has been measured at temperatures ranging from 0 °C to 60 °C. The standard free energy of transfer from water to the urea-containing solution decreases with the length of the alkyl chain, being positive for the small alcohols and negative for the higher alkanols. The same tendency is observed upon all the temperature range considered. On the other hand, the standard entropy of transfer from water to the urea-containing solution increases with the length of the alkyl chain of the alkanol. These results are compatible with a simple description of the urea effect in terms of increasing the entropy of dissolution of the hydrophobic alkyl chain in the aqueous solution. </p>