Solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions evaluated through clusters isolated from solutions: Preferential solvation in water-alcohol mixtures

Mass spectrometric analysis of clusters in alcohol (methanol, ethanol, l-propanol)-water binary mixtures provided information on the microscopic structures of these binary mixtures at the cluster level. Preferential solvation for the hydrophobic substrates by the alcohol molecules in the alcohol-water mixtures was found to be promoted by the alcohol self-aggregation in the solution. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.