Iodine(I2)is a solid molecular compound at room temperature. Predict its solubility in liquid water(H2O)and in liquid cyclohexane(C6H12) at room temperature respectively and provide explain for your answer.
I2 is held together by covalent bond; therefore, you would expect it to dissolve in a non-polar solvent (cyclohexane) and not be very soluble in a polar solvent (H2O).
To predict the solubility of iodine (I2) in liquid water (H2O) and in liquid cyclohexane (C6H12) at room temperature, we need to consider the nature of the solute and the solvent, as well as the intermolecular forces between them.
In the case of iodine (I2), it is a nonpolar molecule made up of two iodine atoms bonded together. Nonpolar molecules have weak intermolecular forces and tend to be insoluble or only slightly soluble in polar solvents, such as water (H2O). On the other hand, nonpolar molecules are generally more soluble in nonpolar solvents, such as cyclohexane (C6H12).
1. Solubility in water (H2O):
Due to the polar nature of water molecules, they form strong hydrogen bonds with each other. To dissolve in water, a solute needs to be able to break these hydrogen bonds. Since iodine is a nonpolar molecule, it lacks the ability to interact with water molecules through hydrogen bonding. As a result, iodine is only slightly soluble in water at room temperature. This means that only a small amount of iodine will dissolve in water, forming a colored solution due to the presence of iodine molecules.
2. Solubility in cyclohexane (C6H12):
Cyclohexane, being a nonpolar solvent, does not have strong intermolecular forces like those found in water. As a result, nonpolar solute molecules like iodine can readily dissolve in cyclohexane. Iodine is highly soluble in cyclohexane at room temperature, forming a colored solution.
In summary, iodine is only slightly soluble in water due to its nonpolar nature and the strong intermolecular forces present in water. On the other hand, iodine is highly soluble in cyclohexane because of the absence of strong intermolecular forces in the nonpolar solvent.