Computational studies in aqueous and chloroform solutions of complex organic solutes: distinctive effects of the solvent on solutes with small chemical differences Original Research Article

The solvation in chloroform and aqueous solutions of three complex organic molecules have been investigated using self-consistent reaction-field (SCRF) methods. Solutes contain a phenyl ring with two attached methoxy groups, differing only in the chemical nature of the two functional groups located at the end of a flexible aliphatic chain. The study of solutes with only such small difference constitute a challenge for SCRF methods. Calculations in solution were performed on a selected number of conformers generated through a conformational search. The results provide a picture of the changes induced by the different solvents on the conformational preferences of the solutes. Conformations are described using general structural patterns rather than discrete structures due to the flexibility of the methoxy groups and the aliphatic chain. On the other hand, solute–solvent interactions have been analyzed and related with the transfer free energies and the partition coefficients to chloroform from water.