Non-ideality in Born-free energy of solvation in alcohol-water and dimethylsulfoxide-acetonitrile mixtures: Solvent size ratio and ion size dependence

Recent extension of mean spherical approximation (MSA) for electrolyte solution has been employed to investigate the non-ideality in Born-free energy of solvation of a rigid, mono-positive ion in binary dipolar mixtures of associating (ethanol-water) and non-associating (dimethylsulfoxide-acetonitrile) solvents. In addition to the dipole moments, the solvent size ratio and ion size have been treated in a consistent manner in this extended MSA theory for the first time. The solvent-solvent size ratio is found to play an important role in determining the non-ideality in these binary mixtures. Smaller ions such as Li⁺ and Na⁺ show stronger non-ideality in such mixtures compared to bigger ions (for example, Cs⁺ and Bu₄N⁺). The partial solvent polarization densities around smaller ions in tertiary butanol (TBA)-water mixture is found to be very different from that in other alcohol-water mixtures as well as to that for larger ions in aqueous solutions of TBA. Non-ideality is weaker in mixtures consisting of solvent species possessing nearly equal diameters and dipole moments and is reflected in the mole fraction dependent partial solvent polarization densities.     

Anisotropic solvent model of the lipid bilayer. 1. Parameterization of long-range electrostatics and first solvation shell effects

A new implicit solvation model was developed for calculating free energies of transfer of molecules from water to any solvent with defined bulk properties. The transfer energy was calculated as a sum of the first solvation shell energy and the long-range electrostatic contribution. The first term was proportional to solvent accessible surface area and solvation parameters (σ(i)) for different atom types. The electrostatic term was computed as a product of group dipole moments and dipolar solvation parameter (η) for neutral molecules or using a modified Born equation for ions. The regression coefficients in linear dependencies of solvation parameters σ(i) and η on dielectric constant, solvatochromic polarizability parameter π*, and hydrogen-bonding donor and acceptor capacities of solvents were optimized using 1269 experimental transfer energies from 19 organic solvents to water. The root-mean-square errors for neutral compounds and ions were 0.82 and 1.61 kcal/mol, respectively. Quantification of energy components demonstrates the dominant roles of hydrophobic effect for nonpolar atoms and of hydrogen-bonding for polar atoms. The estimated first solvation shell energy outweighs the long-range electrostatics for most compounds including ions. The simplicity and computational efficiency of the model allows its application for modeling of macromolecules in anisotropic environments, such as biological membranes.     

Dispersion self-free energies and interaction free energies of finite-sized ions in salt solutions

The role for many-body dipolar (dispersion) potentials in ion-solvent and ion-solvent-interface interactions is explored. Such many-body potentials, accessible in principle from measured dielectric data, are necessary in accounting for Hofmeister specific ion effects. Dispersion self-energy is the quantum electrodynamic analogue of the Born electrostatic self-energy of an ion. We here describe calculations of dispersion self-free energies of four different anions (OH-, Cl-, Br-, and I-) that take finite ion size into account. Three different examples of self-free energy calculations are presented. These are the self-free energy of transfer of an ion to bulk solution, which influences solubility; the dispersion potential acting between one ion and an air-water interface (important for surface tension calculations); and the dispersion potential acting between two ions (relevant to activity coefficient calculations). To illustrate the importance of dispersion self-free energies, we compare the Born and dispersion contributions to the free energy of ion transfer from water to air (oil). We have also calculated the change in interfacial tension with added salt for air (oil)-water interfaces. A new model is used that includes dispersion potentials acting on the ions near the interface, image potentials, and ions of finite size that are allowed to spill over the solution-air interface. It is shown that interfacial free energies require a knowledge of solvent profiles at the interface.     

Nonideality in diffusion of ionic and hydrophobic solutes and pair dynamics in water-acetone mixtures of varying composition

We have performed a series of molecular dynamics simulations of water-acetone mixtures containing either an ionic solute or a neutral hydrophobic solute to study the extent of nonideality in the dynamics of these solutes with variation of composition of the mixtures. The diffusion coefficients of the charged solutes, both cationic and anionic, are found to change nonmonotonically with the composition of the mixtures showing strong nonideality of their dynamics. Also, the extent of nonideality in the diffusion of these charged solutes is found to be similar to the nonideality that is observed for the diffusion and orientational relaxation of water and acetone molecules in these mixtures which show a somewhat similar changes in the solvation characteristics of charged and dipolar solutes with changes of composition of water-acetone mixtures. The diffusion of the hydrophobic solute, however, shows a monotonic increase with increase of acetone concentration showing its different solvation characteristics as compared to the charged and dipolar solutes. The links between the nonideality in diffusion and solvation structures are further confirmed through calculations of the relevant solute-solvent and solvent-solvent radial distribution functions for both ionic and hydrophobic solutes. We have also calculated various pair dynamical properties such as the relaxation of water-water and acetone-water hydrogen bonds and residence dynamics of water molecules in water and acetone hydration shells. The lifetimes of both water-water and acetone-water hydrogen bonds and also the residence times of water molecules are found to increase steadily with increase in acetone concentration. No maximum or minimum was found in the composition dependence of these pair dynamical quantities. The lifetimes of water-water hydrogen bonds are always found to be longer than that of acetone-water hydrogen bonds in these mixtures. The residence times of water molecules are also found to follow a similar trend.     

The coalescence of polystyrene in correlated binary solvents

The solution behavior of solvophobic polymers is crucial to the development of polymer coatings and polymeric drug delivery vehicles. In this article, the role of dipolar interactions is investigated in the solvophobic coalescence of polystyrene in binary correlated polar solvent mixtures. A simple model for coalescence thermodynamics is derived from correlations between thermally rotating dipole moments in the solvent. The stabilizing correlations lost to the solvent due to a solute's presence give rise to a driving force for the coalescence of solutes. This stabilization is offset by the entropy of mixing that favors the dispersion of solutes. Predictions are compared to the measured point of coalescence of polystyrene in acetone when different alcohols are titrated. The model is shown to capture this point of coalescence and conformation for a variety of systems. Our results suggest the significant property determining the solubility of nonpolar polymers in a polar liquid is a free energy resulting from attractive dispersion interactions between thermally rotating solvent dipole moments. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 948–955     

Theory of solvation in polar nematics

We develop a linear response theory of solvation of ionic and dipolar solutes in anisotropic, axially symmetric polar solvents. The theory is applied to solvation in polar nematic liquid crystals. The formal theory constructs the solvation response function from projections of the solvent dipolar susceptibility on rotational invariants. These projections are obtained from Monte Carlo simulations of a fluid of dipolar spherocylinders which can exist both in the isotropic and nematic phases. Based on the properties of the solvent susceptibility from simulations and the formal solution, we have obtained a formula for the solvation free energy which incorporates the experimentally available properties of nematics and the length of correlation between the dipoles in the liquid crystal. The theory provides a quantitative framework for analyzing the steady-state and time-resolved optical spectra and makes several experimentally testable predictions. The equilibrium free energy of solvation, anisotropic in the nematic phase, is given by a quadratic function of cosine of the angle between the solute dipole and the solvent nematic director. The sign of solvation anisotropy is determined by the sign of dielectric anisotropy of the solvent: solvation anisotropy is negative in solvents with positive dielectric anisotropy and vice versa. The solvation free energy is discontinuous at the point of isotropic-nematic phase transition. The amplitude of this discontinuity is strongly affected by the size of the solute becoming less pronounced for larger solutes. The discontinuity itself and the magnitude of the splitting of the solvation free energy in the nematic phase are mostly affected by microscopic dipolar correlations in the nematic solvent. Illustrative calculations are presented for the equilibrium Stokes shift and the Stokes shift time correlation function of coumarin-153 in 4-n-pentyl-4'-cyanobiphenyl and 4,4-n-heptyl-cyanopiphenyl solvents as a function of temperature in both the nematic and isotropic phases.     

Comparison of perturbation theory and mean spherical approximation for polar fluids and ion–dipole mixtures based on molecular simulation data

A comprehensive study on various internal energies, pressures and chemical potentials for the pure dipolar hard sphere fluids, pure Stockmayer fluids, the Lennard–Jones and Stockmayer mixtures, the Stockmayer and Stockmayer mixtures and the ion–dipole mixtures is reported based on the perturbation theory (PT) and mean spherical approximation (MSA). Compared with the results of molecular simulations, it is shown that the PT is superior to MSA in most cases.     

Preferential solvation and solvation shell composition of free base and protonated 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin in aqueous organic mixed solvents

The solvatochromic properties of the free base and the protonated 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin (TPPS) were studied in pure water, methanol, ethanol (protic solvents), dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO, (non-protic solvent), and their corresponding aqueous-organic binary mixed solvents. The correlation of the empirical solvent polarity scale (E(T)) values of TPPS with composition of the solvents was analyzed by the solvent exchange model of Bosch and Roses to clarify the preferential solvation of the probe dyes in the binary mixed solvents. The solvation shell composition and the synergistic effects in preferential solvation of the solute dyes were investigated in terms of both solvent-solvent and solute-solvent interactions and also, the local mole fraction of each solvent composition was calculated in cybotactic region of the probe. The effective mole fraction variation may provide significant physico-chemical insights in the microscopic and molecular level of interactions between TPPS species and the solvent components and therefore, can be used to interpret the solvent effect on kinetics and thermodynamics of TPPS. The obtained results from the preferential solvation and solvent-solvent interactions have been successfully applied to explain the variation of equilibrium behavior of protonation of TPPS occurring in aqueous organic mixed solvents of methanol, ethanol and DMSO.     

Photophysics of Nile red in solution: steady state spectroscopy

Spectroscopic properties of Nile red (NR) in organic solvents, binary solvent mixtures have been studied. Remarkable shifts in the emission band positions have been observed as a function of the polarity of the medium. In solvent mixtures, these shifts can be explained by the process of specific solvation known as dielectric enrichment. The displacement of the fluorescence band was also measured as a function of temperature to obtain the thermochromic shifts (15 cm(-1) K(-1) in methyltetrahydrofuran and 13.8 cm(-1) K(-1) in butanol). Excited state dipole moments were calculated from these shifts.     

Ionic solvation at the solid/electrolyte interface: A statistical-mechanical approach

We have studied studied the influence of the size of ions on their adsorbability at a solid surface in the presence of a molecular solvent. Ions and molecules are represented respectively by charged hard spheres and dipolar hard spheres and the surface is just a neutral hard wall. We have found that the electrostatic interaction between ions and molecules can induce the exclusion of small ions from the surface. A pure MSA (mean spherical approximation) calculation would not give any effect of the solvation on the ionic density profile. The present calculation is limited to the case of infinite ionic dilution.     

The importance of excluded solvent volume effects in computing hydration free energies

Continuum dielectric methods such as the Born equation have been widely used to compute the electrostatic component of the solvation free energy, DeltaG(solv)(elec), because they do not need to include solvent molecules explicitly and are thus far less costly compared to molecular simulations. All of these methods can be derived from Gauss Law of Maxwell's equations, which yields an analytical solution for the solvation free energy, DeltaG(Born), when the solute is spherical. However, in Maxwell's equations, the solvent is assumed to be a structureless continuum, whereas in reality, the near-solute solvent molecules are highly structured unlike far-solute bulk solvent. Since we have recently reformulated Gauss Law of Maxwell's equations to incorporate the near-solute solvent structure by considering excluded solvent volume effects, we have used it in this work to derive an analytical solution for the hydration free energy of an ion. In contrast to continuum solvent models, which assume that the normalized induced solvent electric dipole density P(n) is constant, P(n) mimics that observed from simulations. The analytical formula for the ionic hydration free energy shows that the Born radius, which has been used as an adjustable parameter to fit experimental hydration free energies, is no longer ill defined but is related to the radius and polarizability of the water molecule, the hydration number, and the first peak position of the solute-solvent radial distribution function. The resulting DeltaG(solv)(elec) values are shown to be close to the respective experimental numbers.     

Solvatochromism and Preferential Solvation of 4-Pentacyanoferrate 4′-Aryl Substituted Bipyridinium Complexes in Binary Mixtures of Hydroxylic and Non-hydroxylic Solvents

The intense solvatochromic behavior of several pentacyanoferrate complexes with aryl substituted 4,4′-bipyridines acting as ligands, was investigated in six hydroxylic and non hydroxylic solvents using UV-Visible spectroscopy. The metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer bands of the visible spectra of these compounds proved to be markedly affected by solvent polarity. In order to quantify the extent of the observed solvatochromism and reveal the dominant interactions which take place in the cybotactic region, resulting in solvatochromism, the Kamlet-Taft equation was used. This is a multiparametric linear-solvation-energy-relationship (LSER) widely used for the study of solvent effects on various physicochemical properties. Through this analysis it was proved that both specific and non specific interactions contribute to the observed solvatochromism. Furthermore, the preferential solvation of the complex salts was studied in binary solvent mixtures. Solvatochromism was used as the key approach to rationalize solvent-solute and solvent-solvent interactions in the binary solvent mixtures studied.     

A Continuum Reaction Field Theory of Polarizable, Nondipolar, Quadrupolar Solvents: Ab Initio Study of Equilibrium Solvation in Benzene

A continuum theory to describe solvation in nondipolar quadrupolar solvents is developed by accounting for electronic polarizability. A general Hamiltonian for a solute–solvent system in an arbitrary nonequilibrium configuration is obtained in terms of two field variables—densities of the solvent quadrupole and induced dipole moments. Equilibrium solvation is studied by optimizing this Hamiltonian with account of cavity boundaries. As an application, electronic structures and free energies of small molecules in benzene are examined with ab initio methods. Solvation stabilization due to solvent quadrupole moments is found to be substantial; for the solutes considered here, it is comparable to and often in excess of that arising from solvent-induced dipole moments.     

Solvatochromic study of 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone in neat and binary solvent mixtures

Preferential solvation of a solvatochromic probe has been studied in binary mixtures comprising of a non-protic and a protic solvent. The non-protic solvents employed are carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)), acetonitrile (AcN) and N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) and the protic solvents are methanol (MeOH) and ethanol (EtOH). The probe molecule exhibits different spectroscopic characteristics depending upon the properties of the solubilizing media. The observed spectral features provide an indication of the microenvironment immediately surrounding the probe. Solvatochromic shifts of the ground and excited states of the probe were analysed by monitoring the charge transfer absorption band and the fluorescence emission spectra in terms of the solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions. Fluorescence emission spectra show the dual emission due to excited state proton transfer nature of the probe molecule. The effect of solvent and the excitation energy on dual emission are also studied. The observed magnitude of the Stokes shift in the above solvents has been used to deduce experimentally the dipole moment ratio of the probe molecule for the excited state to the ground state. The dipole moment of excited state is higher than the ground state.     

Determination of reorganization energy of fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone in neat and binary solvent mixtures

Steady-state absorption and fluorescence measurements of fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone in neat and binary solvent mixtures were used to explore the reorganization energy in liquid system. The results of spectroscopic measurements were used to calculate, according to Marcus theory, the outer-sphere solvent reorganization energy, lambda(0), and the internal molecular reorganization energy, lambda(in). Preferential solvation of fluorenone and 4-hydroxyfluorenone in binary solvent mixtures has been studied by monitoring the outer-sphere solvent reorganization energy. In cyclohexane-tetrahydrofuran mixtures, the deviation from linearity in the lambda(0) versus the solution polarity is due to non-specific dipolar solvent-solute interactions. For cyclohexane-ethanol binary mixtures, both non-specific and specific (hydrogen bond) interactions contribute to the observed changes.     

Study of Microheterogeneity in Acetonitrile–Water Binary Mixtures by using Polarity‐Resolved Solvation Dynamics

The solvation dynamics of three coumarin dyes with widely varying polarities were studied in acetonitrile–water (ACN–H₂O) mixtures across the entire composition range. At low ACN concentrations [ACN mole fractions (X_ACN)≤0.1], the solvation dynamics are fast (<40 ps), indicating a nearly homogeneous environment. This fast region is followed by a sudden retardation of the average solvation time (230–1120 ps) at higher ACN concentrations (X_ACN≈0.2), thus indicating the onset of nonideality within the mixture that continues until X_ACN≈0.8. This nonideality regime (X_ACN≈0.2–0.8) comprises of multiple dye‐dependent anomalous regions. At very high ACN concentrations (X_ACN≈0.8–1), the ACN–H₂O mixtures regain homogeneity, with faster solvation times. The source of the inherent nonideality of the ACN–H₂O mixtures is a subject of debate. However, a careful examination of the widths of time‐resolved emission spectra shows that the origin of the slow dynamics may be due to the diffusion of polar solvent molecules into the first solvation shell of the excited coumarin dipole.     

Solubility of water in a benzene-cyclohexane mixture

The solubility of a water molecule in a binary mixture of nonpolar cyclohexane and quadrupolar benzene is studied with the ab initio method. A novel self-consistent reaction field theory that properly accounts for benzene quadrupole moments in the continuum solvent framework is used to describe the solvation effects of the solvent mixture. The free energy of transfer from pure cyclohexane to the mixture solvent is obtained with the neglect of nonelectrostatic contributions. A reasonable agreement with experiments indicates that the theoretical method presented here provides a promising approach to electronic structure calculations in quadrupolar solvents and their mixtures with nonpolar solvents.     

Nature of hydration shells of a polyoxy‐anion with a large cationic centre: The case of iodate ion in water

The structural nature of the solvation shells of an iodate ion, which is known to be a polyoxy‐anion with a large cationic centre, is investigated by means of Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) simulations using BLYP and the dispersion corrected BLYP‐D3 functionals. The iodate ion is found to have two distinct solvation regions around the positively charged iodine (iodine solvation shell or ISS) and the negatively charged oxygens (oxygen solvation shell or OSS). We have looked at the spatial, orientational, and hydrogen bond distributions of water in the two solvation regions. It is found that the water orientational profile in the ISS is typical of a cation hydration shell. The hydrogen bonded structure of water in the OSS is found to be very similar to that of the bulk water structure. Thus, the iodate ion essentially behaves like a positively charged iodine ion in water as if there is no anionic part. This explains why the cationic character of the iodate ion was prominently seen in earlier studies. The arrangement of water molecules in the two solvation shells and in the intervening regions around the iodate ion is further resolved by looking at structural cross‐correlations. The electronic properties of the solvation shells are also looked at by calculating the solute–solvent orbital overlap and dipole moments of the solute and solvation shell water. We have also performed BOMD simulations of iodate ion‐water clusters at experimentally relevant conditions. The simulation results are found to be in agreement with experimental results. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Standard Partial Molar Volumes of Ions in Solution. Part 2. The Volumes in Two Binary Solvent Mixtures with No Preferential Solvation

Standard partial molar volumes of ions were obtained from literature data on 1:1 electrolytes in mixtures of propylene carbonate (PC) with acetonitrile (MeCN) and of water (W) with methanol (MeOH) at 298.15 K. The hypothesis was examined that when the solvents in the mixtures do not differ too much in their polarity and/or hydrogen-bonding ability, only negligible preferential solvation occurs in the solvent shell around the ion where electrostriction takes place. Given the solvent-independent intrinsic volume of an ion, the electrostriction, calculated by the shell-by-shell method, permits the examination of this proposition. This hypothesis was indeed validated by the calculated standard partial molar ionic volumes in the dipolar aprotic mixtures and in the protic aqueous methanol.     

Electronic spectroscopic study of solvation of a ketocyanine dye in ternary solvent mixtures

Solvation characteristics in ternary solvent mixtures have been studied by monitoring the solvent-sensitive electronic absorption band of a ketocyanine dye in two ternary solvent mixtures, water + ethanol + benzene and water + ethanol + cyclohexane, in which one of the pairs are partially miscible. Investigations have been done in a completely miscible region including the binodal curve. The maximum energy of absorption (E) of the solute in a ternary solvent mixture differs significantly from the mole fraction average of the E-values in the component solvents. Results in the corresponding binary solvent mixtures also show a deviation of the E-value from the mole fraction averaged E-values, indicating preferential solvation by a component solvent. The results in ternary solvent mixture have been explained in terms of a realistic model of solvation using the results on binary solvation.