Anion bridges drive salting out of a simple amphiphile from aqueous solution.

Neutron diffraction with isotope substitution has been used to determine the structural changes that occur on the addition of a simple salting-out agent to a dilute aqueous alcohol solution. The striking results obtained demonstrate a relatively simple process occurs in which interamphiphile anionic salt bridges are formed between the polar groups of the alcohol molecules. These ion bridges drive an increase in the exposure of the alcohol molecule nonpolar surface to the solvent water and hence point the way to their eventual salting out by the hydrophobic effect.