Diffusion in binary mixtures: an analysis of the dependence on the thermodynamic factor

Abstract: We study the diffusion process in binary mixtures using transition probabilities that depend on a mean-field potential. This approach reproduces the Darken equation, a relationship between the intrinsic and the tracer diffusion coefficients, $D_A$ and $D_A^*$, through the thermodynamic factor $\Phi$ (a function of the derivative of the activity coefficient against molar fraction). The mean-field approach allows us to go beyond the Darken equation and separately specify the dependence of $D_A$ and $D_A^*$ on the thermodynamic factor. We obtain that $\Phi$ appears in the expression for $D_A^*$, but the intrinsic diffusivity $D_A$ turns out to be independent of $\Phi$. Experimental results taken from the literature on diffusion in metal alloys are consistent with this theoretical prediction.