The interest in the "hydrophobic phenomena" that occur when a small nonpolar substance like argon or methane is dissolved in liquid water dates back to the first half of the twentieth century. The most basic aspects are associated with the way water molecules organize around the sparingly soluble, hydrophobic molecules. While a number of special features in the thermodynamics of such "hydrophobic hydration" have attracted a great deal of attention, there is no general consensus about their origin. A picture that has received considerable support over decades invokes an enhancement of water structure around nonpolar solutes. On the other hand, one can approach hydrophobic hydration from the unusual thermodynamics of pure water. This has been concluded from scaled-particle-related methods and simplified statistical mechanical models. Here we seek for an experimental proof of this latter view on the grounds of elementary thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics of hydrophobic hydration: Experimental facts

254th National Meeting (2017)

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