Is the hydrophobic effect unique to water? The relation between solvation properties and network structure in water and modified water models

Abstract

The properties of water as a solvent are related to the structure of its liquid phase which in turn depends on the intermolecular potential. In order to explore this relationship we investigate the properties of liquids formed by a number of modified water models. Changing the molecular geometry changes short-range molecular correlations and the network of hydrogen bonds. The solubility and anomalously low entropy of non-polar solutes is only slightly reduced. Reducing the hydrogen-bond strength increases the solubility and removes the low entropy of solution of uncharged spheres. We conclude that the hydrophobic effect depends on the existence of hydrogen bonds and other strong intermolecular interactions but not on the presence of a three-dimensional network.