Why eutectic is a mixture not a compound?
The elements or compounds that make up a eutectic mixture keep their identities – they are merely mixed together, not combined chemically. They are completely miscible with one another as liquids, but completely immiscible with one another as solids. When a eutectic is solid (below its melting point) it consists of separate crystals or solidified droplets of the pure constituents. In the liquid state, they are merely dissolved in each other, but do not react chemically to form new compounds. It’s worth mentioning that in some respects the eutectic (lowest melting) composition does indeed behave much like it’s a compound unto its own right, but it’s NOT. Again, no chemical reaction involved.
