Search for hydrophobic association between small aprotic solutes from an application of the nuclear magnetic relaxation method

Proton and deuteron magnetic relaxation rates of the four solutes acetone, acetonitrile, trimethylamine, and tetramethylurea in their aqueous mixtures are reported. For the normal and deuterated organic substances the water was D₂O and H₂O, respectively. The intermolecular relaxation rates were determined. Experimental results for the self-diffusion coefficients of trimethylamine and tetramethylurea in their aqueous mixtures are also reported. From these results and literature data the A parameter, A=(1/T₁)_inter·D₁/c_′1 being a criterion for association, was calculated. We obtained the result that only for the largest solute molecule, i.e. tetramethylurea, A showed the typical concentration dependence indicating solute-solute association. For the other three components self-association is not outside the range of the sensitivity of the present method.