Why do ionic materials dissolve so well in water, but not in Hexane?
"Like dissolves like" is a general rule in solubility.
Water is a polar molecule. Its structure is not symmetric, and there is polarity between its elements that compose it - the electronegativity difference between H and O is significantly large.
Ionic molecules are the same. the elements composing it experience polarity, and they aren't symmetric in structure.
Hexane is a nonpolar molecule, and it has a symmetric structure. Since like dissolves like, hexane won't dissolve ionic materials.
hope this helps? `u`
Ionic materials are polar. Water is a polar solvent. Hexane is a non-polar solvent.
Ionic materials dissolve so well in water because water is a polar solvent, which means it has a positive and negative end. Ionic compounds have charged particles, such as cations (positive ions) and anions (negative ions). When they come into contact with water, the positive end of the water molecule (the hydrogen side) is attracted to the negative ion, and the negative end of the water molecule (the oxygen side) is attracted to the positive ion. This attraction between the ions and the water molecules causes the ionic compound to dissociate or break apart into its individual ions, resulting in the compound dissolving in water.
Now, let's consider hexane. Hexane is a nonpolar solvent, meaning it doesn't have charged ends like water. Since ionic compounds have charged particles, they are not easily soluble in nonpolar solvents like hexane. The lack of polarity in hexane means there is no strong attraction between the solvent molecules and the charged ions in the ionic compound, leading to poor solubility. In hexane, the molecules of the ionic compound do not dissociate into their charged ions, resulting in limited or no dissolution.