Mapping Hydration Water around Alcohol Chains by THz Calorimetry

THz spectroscopy was used to probe changes that occur in the dynamics of the hydrogen bond network upon solvation of alcohol chains. The THz spectra can be decomposed into the spectrum of bulk water, tetrahedral hydration water, and more disordered (or interstitial) hydration water. The tetrahedrally ordered hydration water exhibits a band at 195 cm(−1) and is localized around the hydrophobic moiety of the alcohol. The interstitial component yields a band at 164 cm(−1) which is associated with hydration water in the first hydration shell. These temperature‐dependent changes in the low‐frequency spectrum of solvated alcohol chains can be correlated with changes of heat capacity, entropy, and free energy upon solvation. Surprisingly, not the tetrahedrally ordered component but the interstitial hydration water is found to be mainly responsible for the temperature‐dependent change in ΔC(p) and ΔG. The solute‐specific offset in free energy is attributed to void formation and scales linearly with the chain length.