Comparative Analysis of EDTA and Urea in Aqueous Solutions: A Study of Physicochemical Properties

The present investigation focuses comparatively on urea and EDTA to the physicochemical properties that are considered as solute-solvent interactions as physical constants. The following important characteristics are examined: density (ρ), intermolecular free length (Lf), adiabatic compressibility (β), acoustic impedance (Z), specific viscosity (ηs), Jones-Dole viscosity (ψ), and sound velocity (U). The study specifically highlights the differences these solutes exhibit with water. EDTA is a complex chelating agent with a large molecular size and strong ion-binding capacity which causes extreme alteration in the properties of the solution. As a result, both intermolecular free length and compressibility are reduced. Urea, as a smaller polar molecule, breaks the hydrogen-bond network of water and changes the water’s density and viscosity but enables relatively higher compressibility values to be preserved. The experimental results indicate that EDTA causes more profound structural changes in aqueous solutions, whereas urea’s effect is mainly limited to the disruption of hydrogen bonds. Such comparative study enhances our perspective on the role of solutes on some macroscopic properties of bulk solutions and may be relevant to biochemical systems, industrial processing, and materials science. The findings stress the role of molecular size, structure and interaction in bringing about the macroscopic behavior of solutions.