STRUCTURES OF AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS OF ALCOHOLS: NEW RESULTS FROM NEUTRON SCATTERING.

Neutron scattering difference methods using H/D substitution are applied to aqueous methanol solutions, in order to obtain information on the orientations of the water molecules hydrating the methyl group. The results indicate that, although this hydration shell can be thought of as a cage structure as suggested by classical ideas of hydrophobic hydration, these cages are significantly disordered. From the water's viewpoint, we conclude that this hydration water is structurally similar to that in the bulk, with no evidence of the increased ordering expected from standard explanations of the hydrophobic interaction.