[Porky]

How do these terms differ?

From what I've read dissolution rate is usually used when talking about how fast a given solute dissolves in a given solvent measured in mol/s. But the term dissolving still seems to be used interchangeably and remains generally ambiguous to me.

Solvation, for instance water molecules solvating sodium ions seems to mean that water is acting as a ligand/complexing agent and surrounds the sodium ions. Is this the same as dissolving? Does this mean the water molecules are "suspending" the sodium ions?

It'll all very confusing the words seem to be used interchangeably yet people insist that they are distinctive. If they are indeed then what are the distinctions between them? Please be as precise as you can.

[ad0rian423]

You post a complex question, but an important one.

you are right, sometimes dissolution and solvation are used interchangeably. In a material sense, they mean the same thing when you refer to the process of forming a solution - dissolving a solute in a solvent (salt in water) is both dissolution and solvation.

But in physical and chemical sense, they are distinctive processes. Dissolution is related to the kinetics of solution-forming process - how many mols are being dissolved per second - and it is quantitative aspect.
Solvation, as you well know is based on a molecular interaction. The goal of solvation is stabilization of solute by complexation with solvent molecules. It is a more general principle than just solution formation, because insoluble parts of molecules can also be solvated - complexed by interaction with solvent molecules.

I hope this is precise enough.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solvation