What do solvents do to solutes? What phases can solutions be made of?
1 Answer
Jul 18, 2016
Solvents dissolve solutes. They are usually the substances that there are more of than the solute in a solution, and they are often a different phase (solid/liquid/gas) than the solute---though they don't have to be.
Usually, we think of solvents as fluids, which can be liquids or gases.
So, if you wanted...
- You could dissolve (solid) salt,
#"NaCl"# , in a lot of (liquid) water,#"H"_2"O"# , and water would be the solvent. - You could dissolve ammonia gas,
#"NH"_3# , in a bunch of n-hexane liquid,#"C"_6"H"_14# , and n-hexane would be the solvent. The n stands for "neo", and emphasizes that it is#"H"_3"C"-("CH"_2)_4-"CH"_3# . - You could dissolve (liquid) benzene,
#"C"_6"H"_6# , in large quantities of (liquid) toluene,#"C"_6"H"_5"CH"_3# , and toluene would be the solvent.
Any of these count as solutions. These are respectively a solid-liquid solution, a gas-liquid solution, and a liquid-liquid solution.
