Solute-Induced Perturbation of the Solvent Microstructure in Aqueous Electrolyte Solutions: Some Uses and Misuses of Structure Making/Breaking Criteria

Abstract

In this article, we raise awareness about the misuses of frequently invoked criteria for structure making/breaking phenomena, resulting from the absence of any explicit cause–effect relationship between the proposed markers and the microstructural perturbation of the solvent induced by the solute. First, we support our assessment with rigorous molecular-based foundations to determine, directly and quantitatively, the solute-induced perturbation of the solvent structure leading to an unambiguous definition of a structure making/breaking event. Then, we highlight and discuss the sources of concealed ambiguities in two of the most frequently invoked structure making/breaking criteria, i.e., Hepler’s thermal expansivity-based and Jones–Dole’s B coefficient-based markers. Finally, we illustrate how the implementation of rigorous molecular-based arguments, in conjunction with the available experimental evidence on a variety of aqueous species at infinite dilution, rule out the validity of these two criteria as structure making/breaking markers and suggest their discontinuation to avoid the perpetuation of myths.