Spectrofluorometric Probe Method for Examining Preferential Solvation in Binary Solvent Mixtures

Abstract

A spectrofluorometric method is developed to examine preferential solvation of a probe molecule dissolved in binary solvent mixtures. The method assumes that the solvational sphere around every fluorophore is solvated by only one type of solvent component and that each solvated fluorophore contributes to the measured emission intensity. Expressions derived from the model are illustrated with the use of observed fluorescence emission behavior of 3,4-dihydrobenzo[ghilperylene dissolved in binary n-heptane + 1,4-dioxane and dibutyl ether + acetonitrile solvent mixtures, which were measured as part of the present study.