Solvent effects of ethyl methacrylate characterized by FTIR

Ethyl Methacrylate (EMA) was dissolved into 19 different organic solvents as well as in CCl4/C6H14 and C2H5OH/C6H14 binary solvents. Infrared spectroscopy was employed to characterize the solvent–solute interactions of the as-prepared solutions. In this work, the effect of three different types of solute–solvent interaction to the degree of shifting in the carbonyl vibration (ν(CO)) of EMA was studied. The frequencies of carbonyl stretching vibration (ν(CO)) of EMA in each solvent were correlated with the solvent scales such as the KBM equation, the solvent acceptor number (AN) and the linear solvation energy relationships (LSER). The results indicated that the solvent-induced ν(CO) shifts of EMA has a better correlation with LSER than AN, while the correlation with the KBM parameter was inapparent. By changing the mole ratio of CCl4(XCCl4)(XCCl4) and C2H5OH (XC2H5OH), three kinds of solute–solvent interactions were found in EMA–CCl4/C6H14 and EMA–C2H5OH/C6H14 solutions. In addition, the mechanisms of the solute (EMA)–solvent interactions were discussed in detail.

► The solvent effects of EMA in different solvent systems are studied by FTIR.
► The ν(CO) shift of EMA reflects the strength of solute–solvent interactions.
► Solvent effects comprehend specific and nonspecific solute–solvent interactions.
► Three types of solute–solvent interactions are found in binary solvent systems.