Talk:Solvent

This  level-5 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Chemistry High‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Chemistry, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of chemistry on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.ChemistryWikipedia:WikiProject ChemistryTemplate:WikiProject ChemistryChemistry articles High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale. Materials Low‑importance This article is within the scope of WikiProject Materials, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Materials on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.MaterialsWikipedia:WikiProject MaterialsTemplate:WikiProject MaterialsMaterials articles Low This article has been rated as Low-importance on the importance scale.

It is requested that a diagram or diagrams of a chemical substance be included in this article to improve its quality. Specific illustrations, plots or diagrams can be requested at Wikiproject Chemistry Image Request or at the Graphic Lab. For more information, refer to discussion on this page and/or on Wikiproject Chemistry Image Request. Please also see the image style guide before uploading images..

Ethyl acetate in the none polars in the second, and the polar aprotics in the first —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.24.47.178 (talk) 10:10, 14 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Fixed. Thank you. Materialscientist (talk) 10:35, 14 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In the solvent table, 1,4-dioxane is listed as having a nonzero dipole moment, but from the symmetry of the molecule one would expect a zero dipole moment. I realize this is may be a subtle question for flexible molecules like 1,4-dioxane that can have a nonzero dipole moment some conformations (in this case the less preferred chair conformation) but not others. The 1967 National Bureau of Standards tabulation [1] (page 28) lists 1,4-dioxane as having no dipole moment because of symmetry, but on the same page the dipole moment of 2,3-butanedione is listed as zero but questionable, due to the possible effects of an unsymmetric gauche conformation. Pending further information, I have changed the dipole moment of 1,4-dioxane in the solvent table to zero. — Preceding unsigned comment added by CharlesHBennett (talk • contribs) 21:13, 26 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

PS Another source [2] gives the dipole moment as 0.45 Debye, the same as in the table, so I did not change the article after all. Perhaps the conformation-dependence of dipole moments should be discussed in the article on dipole moment or dielectric spectroscopy.CharlesHBennett (talk) 21:28, 26 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Chlororform and Diethyl ether should not be in the non-polar solvents for teither the common table of solvents due to its dipole moments. Assuming the charges are evenly distributed and removes the dipole moment is dangerous. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.90.124.37 (talk) 17:46, 4 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

On the first one, it's listing DCM as a none polar, and the second lists it as a polar.

Thank you. Fixed (it is somewhat polar). Materialscientist (talk) 22:30, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Some of the Hansen solubility parameter data is not in agreement with original sources. The example with finding substitute mixtures for chloroform is not valid with the current values of the parameters of dioxane. Hansen's book has the values 19.0,1.8,7.4 for the three parameters D,P,H. A much better fit is with a mixture of toluene and tetrahydrofuran. Perhaps there was a mixup somewhere; this is important because there are good reasons for not using chloroform (for one thing, it spontaneously decomposes to form phosgene, a very poisonous material) In addition, both dioxane and tetrahydrafuran are problematic in that they form explosive peroxides on storage. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.113.108.124 (talk) 05:43, 19 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

For solubility data, why is the temperature not given. Clearly, this affects solubility and therefore should be quoted. (question made by 80.5.160.8)

Actually, we don't have solubility data on this page :-) Cacycle 16:51, 5 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I was wondering if NaCl would dissolve in Ethanol. Would a polar solute be dissolved in a non-polar solvent?

Why are we saying "A solvent is a liquid" here? The solution page clearly states that gases may be dissolved in themselves, and why not gases, liquids and solids into solids?

I agree; f.x. you dissolve gases or liquids in polymer matrices or in liquid crystalline phases for that matter. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pwt dk (talk • contribs) 12:11, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I also agree. In semicondutors, the dopant (or any metal nearby) will dissolve in the silicon, particularly as it warms up. Silver solder is also used in audio electronics to prevent silver being leached out of components by a tin/lead alloy. The majority of solvents are seen as liquids, but adding a note about this would be good.

I can't find information here on "natural" solvents like Pine-Sol or Goo Gone. Any idea what they are chemically and why they can dissolve things that usually require nasty nonpolar solvents? —BenFrantzDale 19:40, 22 February 2006 (UTC)[reply]

See Talk:Solution#Merging Solution with Soluble and Solvent. --Unsigned comment added 22:45, 11 May 2006 by User:Black and White. Edited by User:Centrx on 24 May 2006.

Isn't saying solvent dissolves defining it with the word itself. May-be merging with Solution will be a good idea, but if they don't get merged, I think the first sentence needs something else instead of dissolves.80.235.71.49 16:13, 6 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

hey can a solvent dissolve a plasma? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Thunder god 15 (talk • contribs) 09:24, 11 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

"A solvent is a liquid or gas that dissolves a solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution." The entire article has this character; there is no information about what a solvent actually is, from a Physics of even physical Chemistry analysis. The article is absurdly circular.

I tried to add some clarity to first few sentences, but this is still very circular. Really needs an explanation for dissolve, but I'm not confident enough to be chemically correct. Dragonbits (talk) 17:14, 12 July 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Although picky I think the following sentance needs re-wording

Solvents should therefore not react chemically with the dissolved compounds — they have to be inert. I can think of several instances in which solvents also act as reagents, most notably the birch reduction (both ammonia and ethanol), formation of nucleophiles such as alkoxides, to name but a few.

An important point which should also be noted (linked) is the process of recrystalisation.Dant1t 23:17, 22 October 2007 (UTC)dant1t[reply]

Please provide better mechanism including reference. Formation of peroxides is a critical safety issue. Specifically, your mechanism does not rationalize formation the peroxide. The oxygen radical needs to form a bond with the oxygen atom already present on THF, not on the carbon, right? How is the peroxide formed? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.214.17.5 (talk) 20:02, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Polarity scale also depends on the kind of chemistry being done. Dichlormethane, ethyl acetate, diethyl ether, chloroform and others are polar for uses in synthetic organic chemistry and do not dissolve in water. Your statement is an incorrect oversimplification. Polarity of solvents as you say later on the paragraph has to do with the dipole of the molecule and the solvent's ability to dissolve the solute in question and not if they dissolve in water. Lowry & Richardson, Mechanism and Theory in Organic Chemistry, 3rd Ed. Harper Collins Publishers (1987) p. 177 discusses and suggests nonpolar solvents have dielectric constant of less than approximately 15.

You really need references. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.214.17.5 (talk) 20:19, 29 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Actually, DCM, EA, ether, chloroform are non-polar solvents. Polar solvents really, should start from acetone, dmso, ethanol, methanol onward. These are the solvents of polarity ~ 0.4 and above. And yes, I am a synthetic chemist. --Rifleman 82 (talk) 01:38, 30 January 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Again, we need accepted peer reviewed references not the opinion of an annonymous editor purporting to be a chemist.

Plus, hey synthetic chemist, if you have time, could you provide the mechanism and reference for peroxide formation in THF. THanks. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.214.17.5 (talk) 21:38, 13 February 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Under links, Link for table 1 is broken.

Error in the table: 1,4-dioxane a polar aprotic solvent? Isn't it a mistake to list 1,4-dioxane as a polar solvent? F.x. in view of the low dielectric constant and in comparison to diethyl ether listed in the non-polar catagory. Bold text —Preceding unsigned comment added by Pwt dk (talk • contribs) 12:17, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

DIOXANE: 1,4-dioxane is put under non-polar solvens, but in the 1,4-dioxane article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1,4-Dioxane) following is written: "It is a versatile polar aprotic solvent". So the question is, which is most true? I dont know if one should define it from dielectric const or solubility in water... is there some IUPAC (or alike) definition of when something is considered polar, and if so, could we include it? Aimdezilaere (talk) 09:31, 15 March 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is there any Chemical element that is used as a solvent? I mean something like a particular substance dissolves in say Mercury (element)) and therefore Mercury is used as a solvent for commercial/research work. manya (talk) 04:39, 9 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Mercury solutions are called amalgams. Mercury is used to dissolve sodium (mercury cell process) and gold (an ancient gold refining method). --Vuo (talk) 17:58, 5 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

such as dimethyl isosorbide, dimethyl sulfoxide (dmso), glycofurol (glycofurol 75), ethyl lactate, solketal, n methyl pyrolidonone. Cinnamon colbert (talk) 14:12, 30 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

We need to fix the 2nd person (you) tone found throughout. I don't have time. Earendil56 (talk) 22:20, 24 October 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is an organic solvent just a solvent that is an organic compound? Do they tend to have any interesting properties that distinguish them from solvents in general -- for example, a relationship with polarity?

Perhaps the category is not very fundamental, but the collocation "organic solvent" is found often in the external world, and the term redirects here, so it would be nice to have a tiny section or definition devoted to organic solvents as such.

For example, if "most" solvents besides water are organic solvents, as I read on Yahoo, then perhaps this should be mentioned in the first paragraph of the article, before getting into the uses of organic solvents. I don't have the knowledge to assert this myself.

At the end of the article we find the following remark, added as a kind of afterthought:

Solvent systems exist outside the realm of ordinary organic solvents: Supercritical fluids, ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents.

Again, this hints at something implicitly known to chemists but not set forth in the article: most solvents are organic. It also suggests that the article has not mentioned these kinds of solvents, or any solvents besides organic. This is disappointing to the reader, since the title of the article is "solvents", and also is not quite true. 84.227.242.182 (talk) 18:17, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

"The dynamic economic development in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil, or Russia will especially continue to boost demand for solvents."

This reminds me of stock blog hype in the summer of 2008 -- isn't this a bit dated, or perhaps too specific in its reference to be on-topic here? 89.217.20.9 (talk) 21:41, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]

A similar passage still existed until I removed it a minute ago. At most, only part of it was cited, and all of it appeared to be based on years-old publications making predictions that by now are either fulfilled or not. We definitely don't need marketting hype here. DMacks (talk) 15:52, 21 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

The comment(s) below were originally left at Talk:Solvent/Comments, and are posted here for posterity. Following several discussions in past years, these subpages are now deprecated. The comments may be irrelevant or outdated; if so, please feel free to remove this section.

Last edited at 20:50, 29 January 2008 (UTC). Substituted at 06:29, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 2 external links on Solvent. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20041113054037/http://www.usm.maine.edu/~newton/Chy251_253/Lectures/Solvents/Solvents.html to http://www.usm.maine.edu/~newton/Chy251_253/Lectures/Solvents/Solvents.html
• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20041207190740/http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/smurov/orgsoltab.htm to http://virtual.yosemite.cc.ca.us/smurov/orgsoltab.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

• If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
• If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 03:47, 22 January 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Solvents RE-2, RE-3, and RE-4 contain the (generic?) word "solvent" as the first ingredient. This is either ambiguous, circular, or undefined. 68.110.182.150 (talk) 14:03, 14 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

That whole section is uncited, except for four specific entries. Going back to the [earliest form of this table, it has never had more cites, and these circular-definition words are already present (it's what google-translate does for ru:Многокомпонентные_растворители that was cited as the antecedent). The stand-alone article was merged here per Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Multicomponent solvents. I would support removing the extensive table and merely a sentence or two of prose that some mixtures have trade-names, with cited examples. DMacks (talk) 16:12, 14 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Starting from that ruwiki article, it looks like the substance is ru:Сольвент, which Google Translate says:

Solvent - a mixture of light hydrocarbons released from oil or coal raw materials, a flammable liquid. Density 867 kg / m ^ 3 at 20 ° C. Flash point 29°C (o.t.); ignition point 36 °C; self-ignition temperature 488 °C; lower conc. distribution limit sq. 1.0% (vol.); minimum ignition energy 0.45 mJ. Xylene volatility 1.01-1.08

The solvent is a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons with a small content of naphthenes, paraffins and unsaturated cyclic hydrocarbons. The solvent consists of approximately 56% aromatic hydrocarbons, and the rest is unsaturated hydrocarbons

That doesn't exactly match petroleum ether or kerosene, but it's in the white spirit/naphtha family. DMacks (talk) 16:36, 14 January 2022 (UTC)[reply]