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Topic: how does isopropyl alcohol differ in polarity from water  (Read 48191 times)

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Offline trinhn812

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how does isopropyl alcohol differ in polarity from water
« on: November 01, 2007, 11:21:08 PM »
I don't have any clue why?

Offline Yggdrasil

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Re: how does isopropyl alcohol differ in polarity from water
« Reply #1 on: November 03, 2007, 03:17:11 AM »
Well, consider the difference in structure.  Water has two hydrogens attached to an oxygen atom arranged in such a way that the dipoles of the O-H bond add constructively.  In isopropyl alcohol, one of the H atoms is replaced by a hydrocarbon group.  Hydrocarbons are non polar, so the presence of the hydrocarbon group makes isopropyl alcohol less polar.  Furthermore, only one O-H dipole contributes to the overall dipole of the molecule as opposed to two O-H dipoles in water.

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