If benzophenone is nonpolar, how come it is only partially soluble in hexane (nonpolar)? Also, can H bonding occur?
Can H bonding occur between benzophenone and methyl alcohol? malonic acid and methyl alcohol? biphenyl and methyl alcohol? Please explain.
Benzophenone is a nonpolar molecule, mainly due to the symmetric arrangement of its atoms. However, even though benzophenone is nonpolar, it is only partially soluble in hexane, another nonpolar solvent. This can be attributed to the fact that benzophenone has a relatively large molecular size and van der Waals forces play a significant role in its solubility. Van der Waals forces are weak attractive forces between molecules, and even though they are present in nonpolar substances, they are generally weaker compared to polar or ionic interactions. This results in only a partial solubility of benzophenone in hexane.
Regarding hydrogen bonding, it is important to note that benzophenone does not have any hydrogen atoms that are directly bonded to electronegative atoms (such as oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine) that are necessary for hydrogen bonding to occur. Hydrogen bonding requires the presence of hydrogen atoms bonded to highly electronegative atoms, which creates a significant dipole-dipole interaction.
Moving on to the other compounds, let's consider their potential for hydrogen bonding with methyl alcohol (methanol).
1. Benzophenone and methyl alcohol: Benzophenone does not have any hydrogen atoms bonded to electronegative atoms, so it cannot form hydrogen bonds with methyl alcohol.
2. Malonic acid and methyl alcohol: In malonic acid, there are two carboxylic acid functional groups (–COOH) which have hydrogen atoms bonded to oxygen. These hydrogen atoms can participate in hydrogen bonding with the oxygen atom in methyl alcohol, leading to the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonds.
3. Biphenyl and methyl alcohol: Biphenyl does not have any hydrogen atoms bonded to electronegative atoms, and thus it cannot form hydrogen bonds with methyl alcohol.
To summarize, benzophenone is only partially soluble in hexane due to weak van der Waals forces. It does not have the necessary hydrogen atoms to participate in hydrogen bonding. Malonic acid can form hydrogen bonds with methyl alcohol, but benzophenone and biphenyl cannot.