Ambient isobaric heat capacities, C(p,m), for ionic solids and liquids: an application of volume-based thermodynamics (VBT).

Thermodynamic properties, such as standard entropy, among others, have been shown to correlate well with formula volume, V(m), thus permitting prediction of these properties on the basis of chemical formula and density alone, with no structural detail required. We have termed these procedures "volume-based thermodynamics" (VBT). We here extend these studies to ambient isobaric heat capacities, C(p,m), of a wide range of materials. We show that heat capacity is strongly linearly correlated with formula volume for large sets of minerals, for ionic solids in general, and for ionic liquids and that the results demonstrate that the Neumann-Kopp rule (additivity of heat capacity contributions per atom) is widely valid for ionic materials, but the smaller heat capacity contribution per unit volume for ionic liquids is noted and discussed. Using these correlations, it is possible to predict values of ambient (298 K) heat capacities quite simply. We also show that the heat capacity contribution of water molecules of crystallization is remarkably constant, at 41.3 ± 4.7 J K(-1) (mol of water)(-1), so that the heat capacities of various hydrates may be reliably estimated from the values of their chemical formula neighbors. This result complements similar observations that we have reported for other thermodynamic differences of hydrates.