Issue 45, 2023

Solvation free energies of alcohols in water: temperature and pressure dependences

Abstract

Solvation free energies μ* of amphiphilic species, methanol and 1,2-hexanediol, are obtained as a function of temperature or pressure based on molecular dynamics simulations combined with efficient free-energy calculation methods. In general, μ* of an amphiphile can be divided into Image ID:d3cp03799a-t1.gif and Image ID:d3cp03799a-t2.gif, the nonpolar and electrostatic contributions, and the former is further divided into Image ID:d3cp03799a-t3.gif and Image ID:d3cp03799a-t4.gif which are the work of cavity formation process and the free energy change due to weak, attractive interactions between the solute molecule and surrounding solvent molecules. We demonstrate that μ* of the two amphiphilic solutes can be obtained accurately using a perturbation combining method, which relies on the exact expressions for Image ID:d3cp03799a-t5.gif and Image ID:d3cp03799a-t6.gif and requires no simulations of intermediate systems between the solute with strong, repulsive interactions and the solute with the van der Waals and electrostatic interactions. The decomposition of μ* gives us several physical insights including that μ* is an increasing function of T due to Image ID:d3cp03799a-t7.gif, that the contributions of hydrophilic groups to the temperature dependence of μ* are additive, and that the contribution of the van der Waals attraction to the solvation volume is greater than that of the electrostatic interactions.

Graphical abstract: Solvation free energies of alcohols in water: temperature and pressure dependences

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Aug 2023
Accepted
18 Oct 2023
First published
24 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023,25, 31107-31117

Solvation free energies of alcohols in water: temperature and pressure dependences

A. Taira, R. Okamoto, T. Sumi and K. Koga, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2023, 25, 31107 DOI: 10.1039/D3CP03799A

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