Preferential solvation of N-methylformamide, N,N-dimethylformamide and N-methylacetamide by water and alcohols in the binary and ternary mixtures

Using the Kirkwood–Buff theory of solutions, the preferential solvation of the N-methylacetamide molecule has been investigated in the binary and ternary mixtures containing N-methylacetamide (NMA), aliphatic alcohol and water. The results are compared with those obtained previously for N-methylformamide (NMF) and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The thermodynamic investigations, based on the Kirkwood–Buff theory of solutions, lead to the unexpected conclusion that both NMA and DMF are solvated in the investigated binary and ternary mixtures in a very similar manner, but solvation of NMF differs from other amides. For all the investigated amides, the local mole fractions differ only slightly from the bulk ones—the deviations are only a few per cent or less. Moreover, for the {amide+methanol} binary mixtures, where amide=NMF, DMF and NMA, molecular dynamics calculations at xamide=0.518 were performed. From the obtained molecule–molecule radial distribution functions (rdf) and atom–atom rdf, it was possible to estimate the local mole fractions around the amide molecule, the orientation effects of molecules within the solvation shell, and a possibility of the formation of complexes. The general picture obtained from analysis of the molecular dynamics results is consistent with the deductions derived from thermodynamic data.