Probenecid (PB), as a pharmacotherapeutic agent for treating
gout,
confronts challenges associated with heterogeneous particle size distribution
and irregular morphology, impacting postprocessing efficiency. Therefore,
further investigation of the nucleation behavior of PB is necessary
to address these issues. The nucleation behavior of PB in four solvents
was investigated using metastable zone width (MSZW) experiments, the
Nývlt model, and the modified Sangwal’s theory. The
results revealed that the MSZW broadened, and the interfacial energy
(γ) and pre-exponential factor (A) increased
with higher cooling rates and lower saturation temperatures. As the
chemical potential increases, the critical nucleus size (r
crit) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG
crit) decrease. Infrared (FTIR) spectral analysis suggested
that the distinct nucleation behavior of PB in various solvents can
be attributed to the competition between intermolecular interactions,
predominantly hydrogen bonding and dimerization. Radial distribution
function (RDF) analysis and solvation energy calculation suggested
that the nucleation behavior becomes more difficult as the solute–solvent
intermolecular interactions become stronger.