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Partial specific volume

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
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Source updated November 25, 2025

The partial specific volume {\bar {v_{i}}}, express the variation of the extensive volume of a mixture in respect to composition of the masses. It is the partial derivative of volume with respect to the mass of the component of interest.

V=\sum _{i=1}^{n}m_{i}{\bar {v_{i}}},

where {\bar {v_{i}}} is the partial specific volume of a component i defined as:

{\bar {v_{i}}}=\left({\frac {\partial V}{\partial m_{i}}}\right)_{T,P,m_{j\neq i}}.

The PSV is usually measured in milliLiters (mL) per gram (g), proteins > 30 kDa can often be assumed to have a partial specific volume of 0.708 mL/g, though this estimate varies depending on the amount of volume accessible by solvent or bound molecules. Experimental determination is possible by measuring the natural frequency of a U-shaped tube filled successively with air, buffer and protein solution.

01Properties

The weighted sum of partial specific volumes of a mixture or solution is an inverse of density of the mixture namely the specific volume of the mixture.

v=\sum _{i}w_{i}\cdot {\bar {v_{i}}}={\frac {1}{\rho }}
\sum _{i}\rho _{i}\cdot {\bar {v_{i}}}=1
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This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Partial specific volume”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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