Why is water unusual?

1 Answer
anor277
Oct 28, 2016

For such a small molecule, water has an exceptionally high boiling point, and this may be traced to the polarity of the O-H bond.

Explanation:

If you compare the boiling points of other small molecules, i.e. NH_3, CH_4, H_2S, to that of water, it is very clear that the 100 ""^@C normal boiling point is exceptionally high. Because the oxygen hydrogen bond is polar, i.e. ""^(delta+)H-stackrel(delta-)O-H^(delta+)water molecules engage in extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding, and this substantially elevates the boiling point.

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