Why can't benzene dissolve sodium chloride?
Benzene is a non-polar solvent. NaCl is a polar solute. Remember like dissolves like.
even the dipole moment moment and resultant force is not equal to zero thus why sodium chloride said polar compound while benze due to its low electronegativity are is said to be non-polar
Benzene is a nonpolar organic solvent, while sodium chloride is an ionic compound. Ionic compounds like sodium chloride are composed of positively and negatively charged ions held together by strong electrostatic forces. When an ionic compound dissolves in a solvent, the solvent molecules surround and separate the ions, allowing them to move freely in the solution.
In the case of benzene, since it is nonpolar, it lacks the ability to dissolve ionic compounds like sodium chloride. The attractions between the positive and negative ions in sodium chloride are much stronger than the weak Van der Waals forces present in benzene. Therefore, benzene cannot break the strong ionic bonds in sodium chloride and cannot dissolve it.
Benzene, as a nonpolar solvent, cannot dissolve sodium chloride, which is an ionic compound. To understand why, let's delve into the concept of solubility and the nature of benzene and sodium chloride.
Solubility is the ability of a substance (solvent) to dissolve another substance (solute) to form a homogenous mixture called a solution. It depends on the nature of the solvent and solute and the intermolecular forces between them.
Benzene is a nonpolar molecule composed of carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged in a cyclic structure. Nonpolar molecules have an equal distribution of electrons and possess symmetrical charge distributions. In benzene, the carbon-carbon bonds are nonpolar, giving it its nonpolar nature.
On the other hand, sodium chloride is an ionic compound made up of positively charged sodium ions (Na+) and negatively charged chloride ions (Cl-). Ionic compounds are held together by strong electrostatic attractions between oppositely charged ions, forming a crystal lattice structure.
When a solute dissolves in a solvent, the intermolecular forces between the solute particles must be weaker than the intermolecular forces between the solvent molecules or ions. In the case of benzene and sodium chloride, the intermolecular forces are not compatible.
Benzene molecules are attracted to each other through weak van der Waals forces, also known as London dispersion forces, which are caused by temporary fluctuations in electron distribution. These forces are relatively weak compared to the ionic bonds present in sodium chloride.
Furthermore, since benzene is nonpolar while sodium chloride is ionic, their intermolecular forces do not match. The positive charges of sodium ions are attracted to the negative charges of chloride ions, forming a strong ionic bond. These ionic bonds cannot be easily broken by the comparatively weak van der Waals forces of benzene.
As a result, benzene cannot overcome the strong ionic bonds in sodium chloride to break it down into individual ions and dissolve it.
To sum up, the inability of benzene to dissolve sodium chloride stems from the nonpolar nature of benzene and the ionic nature of sodium chloride. The intermolecular forces between benzene molecules are not strong enough to break the ionic bonds in sodium chloride and allow it to dissolve.