how do you account for the fact that, although diethyl ether has a much lower boiling point than n-butyl alcohol, it has same solubility(8 grams per 100 g) in water?
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2 Answers
49the boiling part has explanation in the fact that there is hydrogen bonding in alcohol but not in ether...but then wats the explanation for second part??
1this is due to same change in gibbs energy which accounts for solubility.
when both the ether and alcohol is dissolved in water
more positive enthalpy change due to breakage of h bond in case of alcohol.
but no enthalpy change in case of ether due to no h bond.
again more extensive h bond between alcohol water than ether water due to more capability of OH- bond in h bonding.thus enthalpy change in solvation of alcohol is more negative.
thus total enthalpy change remains almost same in both cases.
entropy decreases in both cases.
thus change in gibbs energy is same in both cases.
thus solubility is same in both case.