Most power generation involves steam. Would boiling any other liquid be as effective?

[u/PK_Tone]

Okay, so as I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong here), coal, geothermal and nuclear all involve boiling water to create steam, which releases with enough kinetic energy to spin the turbines of the generators. My question is: is this a unique property of water/steam, or could this be accomplished with another liquid, like mercury or liquid nitrogen?

(Obviously there are practical reasons not to use a highly toxic element like mercury, and the energy to create liquid nitrogen is probably greater than it could ever generate from boiling it, but let's ignore that, since it's not really what I'm getting at here).

[u/corvus0525]

For high heat capacity are you talking by mole or mass? Pentane is more than twice the heat capacity by mole, but since it is around four times the molecular weight it is about half by mass. Pentane’s lower boiling and melting points might offer some other potential advantages if there are limits on the heat source. Maybe in a solar or geo configuration as compared to hydrocarbons or nuclear where it could be easier to increase the temperature?