Preferential solvation of difenoconazole in binary solvent mixtures of methanol and ethanol in water at several temperatures

The present investigation used the inverse Kirkwood-Buff integrals technique to determine the best solvation parameters for DIF in two distinct alcoholic aqueous solutions, spanning a temperature range from 293.15 K to 323.15 K. The analysis demonstrated that the values of displayed a nonlinear trend concerning the composition of the co-solvent. The solvation parameters ( ) for DIF in various aqueous solutions revealed nonlinear variations that were contingent upon the concentration of the co-solvent. Notably, positive values were recorded in mixtures with all compositions for methanol and 0.00 < x1 < 0.33-0.35 and 0.50 < x1 < 1.00 for ethanol. Conversely, DIF demonstrates a preference for alcohol as the solvent in aqueous mixtures. At 323.15 K, the methanol (1) + water (2) mixtures show the highest preferential solvation of DIF by alcohol, while the ethanol (1) + water (2) mixtures exhibit the lowest. KEY WORDS: Difenoconazole, Binary solvents, Inverse Kirkwood–Buff integrals, Preferential solvation Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2025, 39(7), 1425-1435. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v39i7.14