Measurement of Solvent OH-π Interactions Using a Molecular Balance

J Am Chem Soc. 2017 May 17;139(19):6550-6553. doi: 10.1021/jacs.7b02349. Epub 2017 May 9.

Abstract

A molecular torsion balance was designed to study and measure OH-π interactions between protic solvents and aromatic surfaces. These specific solvent-solute interactions were measured via their influence on the folded-unfolded equilibrium of an N-arylimide rotor. Protic solvents displayed systematically weaker solvophobic interactions than aprotic solvents with similar solvent cohesion parameters. This was attributed to the formation of OH-π interactions between the protic solvents and the exposed aromatic surfaces in the unfolded conformer that offset the stronger solvophobic effects for protic solvents.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't