why don't water and benzophenone hydrogen bond? benzophenone has a C=O and water forms H bonds too.
Who says it doesn't? There could be some weak H bonding but benzophenone is largely a non-polar molecule (slightly polar because of the C=O bond but those two rings give it a lot of organic character.) But its listed as insoluble in water; the proof is in the pudding.
Water and benzophenone do not form hydrogen bonds with each other because the conditions necessary for the formation of hydrogen bonds are not met.
Hydrogen bonding occurs when a hydrogen atom is bonded to a highly electronegative atom (such as oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine) and forms an electrostatic interaction with another electronegative atom. In water, the highly electronegative oxygen atom forms hydrogen bonds with other water molecules.
In benzophenone, the carbonyl group (C=O) is present, which includes an oxygen atom attached to a carbon atom. While this oxygen atom is electronegative, it is not directly bonded to a hydrogen atom in benzophenone. Therefore, there are no sites in benzophenone that can participate in hydrogen bonding with water molecules.
In summary, the absence of a hydrogen atom bonded to an electronegative atom in benzophenone prevents it from participating in hydrogen bonding with water.
Water and benzophenone do not form hydrogen bonds with each other primarily due to the differences in their molecular structures and the strength of the hydrogen bond interactions involved.
Hydrogen bonding occurs when a hydrogen atom is bonded to a highly electronegative atom (typically oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine) and is attracted to another highly electronegative atom in a different molecule. In water (H2O), the oxygen atom is strongly electronegative, creating a partial negative charge, while the hydrogen atoms have partial positive charges. This allows water molecules to form hydrogen bonds with each other.
In the case of benzophenone, it has a different molecular structure compared to water. Benzophenone contains a carbonyl group (C=O) which creates a polar covalent bond, where the oxygen atom is more electronegative than carbon. However, the carbonyl group in benzophenone is not as capable of participating in hydrogen bonding as the oxygen atom in water.
The hydrogen bonding strength also plays a role in the lack of hydrogen bonding between water and benzophenone. Hydrogen bonds typically involve the interaction of partially positive hydrogen atoms and partially negative atoms. The oxygen atoms in water create stronger partial negative charges compared to the carbon atom in benzophenone, resulting in weaker or absent hydrogen bond interactions between the two molecules.
In summary, water and benzophenone do not form hydrogen bonds with each other mainly due to the differences in their molecular structures, specifically the presence of a carbonyl group in benzophenone that is less capable of participating in hydrogen bonding compared to the oxygen atom in water.