FTIR spectral measurements have been carried out on the binary mixtures of acetonitrile with ethanol at 1:0 (acetonitrile:ethanol), 1:1, 1:2, 1:3 and 0:1 at room temperature. DFT and isosurface calculations have been performed. The acetonitrile + ethanol binary mixtures consist of 1:1,1:2,1:3 and 1:4 complexes formed through both the red and blue shifting H-bonds. Inter as well as intra molecular forces are found to exist in 1:3 and 1:4 complexes. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.