Temperature-Dependent Hydrophobic Crossover Length Scale and Water Tetrahedral Order

Abstract

Experimental Raman multivariate curve resolution and molecular dynamics simulations are performed to demonstrate that the vibrational frequency and tetrahedrality of water molecules in the hydration-shells of short-chain alcohols differ from those of pure water and undergo a crossover above 100 °C (at 30 MPa) to a structure that is less tetrahedral than pure water. Our results demonstrate that the associated crossover length scale decreases with increasing temperature, suggesting that there is a fundamental connection between the spectroscopically observed crossover and that predicted to take place around idealized purely repulsive solutes dissolved in water, although the water structure changes in the hydration-shells of alcohols are far smaller than those associated with an idealized "dewetting" transition.