Account for the volatilities of #HF#, and #"carbon dioxide"#. Why should #CO_2# be MORE volatile than the lighter #HF# molecule?
2 Answers
Explanation:
A chemist interprets data. The relevant data here are the fact that
When hydrogen is bound to a strongly electronegative element such as oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine, the heteroatom strongly polarizes electron density towards itself to give a dipole that we could represent as
As a chemist, as a physical scientist, you should look up the normal boiling points of the hydrides mentioned here, and see if the data are consistent with the argument proposed.
Explanation:
In general, the stronger the intermolecular forces between the molecules of a compound, the higher the boiling point of that compound.
Why is this? Recall that different intermolecular forces have different relative strengths. The order, from weakest to strongest, of the most common intermolecular forces are
Dispersion forces < Dipole-induced dipole interaction < Dipole- dipole interaction < Hydrogen bonding
Hydrogen bonding is therefore the strongest intermolecular force, and will therefore tend to have the highest boiling point (excluding ion-dipole and ion-ion (ionic bonding) forces), and it occurs between the
For
The intermolecular forces present between