Chemical Forums

Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: lukernzen on November 18, 2014, 06:07:09 PM

Title: Compounds that are insoluble in Organic Solvents?
Post by: lukernzen on November 18, 2014, 06:07:09 PM

So we are trying to find an unknown in chemistry lab, and we did the solubility tests on it. It turns out that the solid is insoluble in toluene, cyclohexane, ethanol, and acetone. The solid is soluble in water, NaOH, HCl, and HNO3. I found that ethanol and acetone are polar, while cyclohexane and toluene are nonpolar.. Not sure if the polarity matters at this point, so what types of compounds are insoluble in organic solvents?

Title: Re: Compounds that are insoluble in Organic Solvents?
Post by: Arkcon on November 18, 2014, 08:55:31 PM

With your experimental data, there should be a very strong conclusion.  Can you take a stab at what that might be?

Title: Re: Compounds that are insoluble in Organic Solvents?
Post by: lukernzen on November 18, 2014, 10:10:55 PM

My stab is that it is a sugar, and is polar due to the fact that it dissolved in NaOH, HNO3, H2O, and HCl...

Title: Re: Compounds that are insoluble in Organic Solvents?
Post by: Borek on November 19, 2014, 03:40:13 AM

Why do you assume unknown is organic?