Solvent Effects on The Electronic Absorption Spectra of Thymol

The electronic absorption spectra of thymol have been recorded and studied in various solvents of different polarities. Multiple linear regression technique was applied to calculate the regression and correlation coefficients based on an equation that relates the wavenumbers of the absorption band maxima (νmax) to the empirical Kamlet–Taft solvent parameters, π* (dipolarity/polarizability), β (solvent hydrogen-bond donor acidity) and α (solvent hydrogen-bond acceptor basicity). The regression fits obtained from this analysis allows estimating the contribution of each type of interactions relative to total spectral shifts in solution. The dependence of νmax on the solvent parameters indicates that the obtained bands are affected by specific and non-specific solute-solvent interactions.