Thermo-solvatochromism of zwitterionic probes in aqueous aliphatic alcohols and in aqueous 2-alkoxyethanols: relevance to the enthalpies of activation of chemical reactions

Thermal Response and Thermochromism of Methyl Red-Based Copolymer Systems - Coupled Responsiveness in Critical Solution Behaviour and Optical Absorption Properties

Until now, only limited experimental knowledge and sparse theoretical treatment about the mechanisms of thermochromism of azo dyes in solution has been available. Especially the coupling of thermoresponsiveness of polymers...

Understanding solvation

The effects of solvents on different chemical phenomena, including reactivity, spectroscopic data, and swelling of biopolymers can be rationalized by use of solvatochromic probes, substances whose UV-vis spectra, absorption, or emission are sensitive to the properties of the medium. Thermo-solvatochromism refers to the effect of temperature on solvatochromism. The study of both phenomena sheds light on the relative importance of the factors that contribute to solvation, namely, properties of the probe, those of the solvent (acidity, basicity, dipolarity/polarizability, and lipophilicity), and the temperature. Solvation in binary solvent mixtures is complex because of "preferential solvation" of the probe by one component of the mixture. A recently introduced solvent exchange model is based on the presence in the binary solvent mixture of the organic component (molecular solvent or ionic liquid), S, water, W, and a 1:1 hydrogen-bonded species (S-W). Solvation by the latter is more efficient than by its precursor solvents, due to probe-solvent hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions; dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-W is an exception. Solvatochromic data are employed in order to explain apparently disconnected phenomena, namely, medium effect on the pH-independent hydrolysis of esters, 1H NMR data of water-ionic liquid (IL) mixtures, and the swelling of cellulose.

Solvation in pure and mixed solvents: Some recent developments

The effect of solvents on the spectra, absorption, or emission of substances is called solvatochromism; it is due to solute/solvent nonspecific and specific interactions, including dipole/dipole, dipole-induced/dipole, dispersion interactions, and hydrogen bonding. Thermo-solvatochromism refers to the effect of temperature on solvatochromism. The molecular structure of certain substances, polarity probes, make them particularly sensitive to these interactions; their solutions in different solvents have distinct and vivid colors. The study of both phenomena sheds light on the relative importance of the solvation mechanisms. This account focuses on recent developments in solvation in pure and binary solvent mixtures. The former has been quantitatively analyzed in terms of a multiparameter equation, modified to include the lipophilicity of the solvent. Solvation in binary solvent mixtures is complex because of the phenomenon of "preferential solvation" of the probe by one component of the mixture. A recently introduced solvent exchange model allows calculation of the composition of the probe solvation shell, relative to that of bulk medium. This model is based on the presence of the organic solvent (S), water (W), and a 1:1 hydrogen-bonded species (S-W). Solvation by the latter is more efficient than by its precursor solvents, due to probe/solvent hydrogen-bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) is an exception, because the strong DMSO/W interactions probably deactivate the latter species toward solvation. The relevance of the results obtained to kinetics of reactions is briefly discussed by addressing temperature-induced desolvation of the species involved (reactants and activated complexes) and the complex dependence of kinetic data (observed rate constants and activation parameters) in binary solvent mixtures on medium composition.

Thermosolvatochromism of Betaine Dyes Revisited: Theoretical Calculations of the Concentrations of Alcohol−Water Hydrogen-bonded Species and Application to Solvation in Aqueous Alcohols

Solvatochromic data of 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium-1-yl)phenolate (RB) in aqueous methanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, and 2-methyl-2-propanol at 25 degrees C were recalculated by employing a recently introduced model that explicitly considers the presence of 1:1 alcohol-water hydrogen-bonded species, ROH-W, in bulk solution and their exchange equilibria with water and alcohol in the probe solvation microsphere. The thermosolvatochromic behavior of RB in aqueous ethanol was measured in the temperature range from 10 to 60 degrees C; the results thus obtained were treated according to the same model. All calculations require reliable values of Kdissoc, the dissociation constant of the ROH-W species. This was previously calculated from the dependence of the density of the binary solvent mixture on its composition. Through the use of iteration, the volume of the hydrogen-bonded species, VROH-W, and Kdissoc are obtained simultaneously from the same set of experimental data. This approach may be potentially problematic because Kdissoc and VROH-W are highly correlated. Therefore, we introduced the following approach: (i) VROH-W was obtained from ab initio calculations, (ii) these volumes were corrected for the nonideal behavior of the binary solvent mixtures at different temperatures, (iii) corrected VROH-W values were employed as a constant in the equation used to calculate Kdissoc (from density vs binary solvent mixture composition). VROH-W calculated by the COSMO-RS solvation model fitted the density data better than those calculated by the IEFPCM model. In all aqueous alcohols, solvation by ROH-W is favored over that by the two precursor solvents. In aqueous ethanol, a temperature increase resulted in a gradual desolvation of RB, due to a decrease in the hydrogen-bonding of both components of the mixture. The microscopic polarities of ROH-W are much closer to those of the precursor alcohols.