We have studied the microscopic solvent structure of dimethyl sulfoxide−water mixtures and its influence
on the solvation structure of solute from a clustering point of view, by means of a specially designed mass
spectrometric system. It was observed that the propensity to the cluster formation is nonlinearly dependent
on the solvent composition, exhibiting the existence of a critical value of mixing ratios where drastic changes
in the microscopic solvent structure occur. It was also demonstrated that in such a solvent mixture the solvation
structure of solutes such as 2-butanol, cyclopentanol, cyclohexanol, and phenol is greatly related to the
microscopic solvent structures, implying that solute species interact with already established solvent clusters,
rather than with individual solvent molecules.
The microscopic structures of acetonitrile-water and DMSO-water binary mixed solvents and their influence on the solvation for solutes (some alcohols and phenol) have been studied on the basis of the cluster structures observed through a specially designed mass spectrometer. In acetonitrile-water mixtures, the water clusters were observed at water mole fractions: X w > 0.2; on the other hand, in DMSO-water mixtures, the water clusters were observed only at much higher water mole fractions: X w > 0.93. In the mixing processes, the water clusters were stabilized in the acetonitrile-water mixtures, whereas the DMSO clusters were stabilized in the DMSO-water mixtures. It is demonstrated that these microscopic structures directly affect the solvation for alcohols and phenol in these binary mixed solvents.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.