Why can we use a water-ethanol mixture but not a water-hexane mixture as a recrystallization solvent? because water and hexane a

Question

Flauer [41]

3 years ago

6

Why can we use a water-ethanol mixture but not a water-hexane mixture as a recrystallization solvent? because water and hexane a

re ___________________.

Chemistry

1 answer:

USPshnik [31] · Answer 1 · 2022-07-26T12:04:43+03:00

Answer:

immiscible liquids

Explanation:

When two liquids are to be used for the purpose of recrystallization the both liquids must be miscible with each other in all proportions.

This implies that, if two liquids are immiscible, it will be difficult for the mixture to be useful in recrystallization.

Water and hexane are immiscible because water is a polar solvent and hexane is a non polar solvent.

Water is miscible with ethanol because ethanol contains polar -OH groups that interact effectively with water leading to miscibility of ethanol with water in all proportions.