第11章溶液とコロイド

Some liquids may be mixed in any proportions to yield solutions; in other words, they have infinite mutual solubility and are said to be miscible. Ethanol, sulfuric acid, and ethylene glycol (popular for use as antifreeze, pictured in Figure 11.13) are examples of liquids that are completely miscible with water. Two-cycle motor oil is miscible with gasoline, mixtures of which are used as lubricating fuels for various types of outdoor power equipment (chainsaws, leaf blowers, and so on).

Miscible liquids are typically those with very similar polarities. Consider, for example, liquids that are polar or capable of hydrogen bonding. For such liquids, the dipole-dipole attractions (or hydrogen bonding) of the solute molecules with the solvent molecules are at least as strong as those between molecules in the pure solute or in the pure solvent. Hence, the two kinds of molecules mix easily. Likewise, nonpolar liquids are miscible with each other because there is no appreciable difference in the strengths of solute-solute, solvent-solvent, and solute-solvent intermolecular attractions. The solubility of polar molecules in polar solvents and of nonpolar molecules in nonpolar solvents is, again, an illustration of the chemical axiom “like dissolves like.”

Two liquids that do not mix to an appreciable extent are called immiscible. Separate layers are formed when immiscible liquids are poured into the same container. Gasoline, oil (Figure 11.14), benzene, carbon tetrachloride, some paints, and many other nonpolar liquids are immiscible with water. Relatively weak attractive forces between the polar water molecules and the nonpolar liquid molecules are not adequate to overcome much stronger hydrogen bonding between water molecules. The distinction between immiscibility and miscibility is really one of extent, so that miscible liquids are of infinite mutual solubility, while liquids said to be immiscible are of very low (though not zero) mutual solubility.

Two liquids, such as bromine and water, that are of moderate mutual solubility are said to be partially miscible. Two partially miscible liquids usually form two layers when mixed. In the case of the bromine and water mixture, the upper layer is water, saturated with bromine, and the lower layer is bromine saturated with water. Since bromine is nonpolar, and, thus, not very soluble in water, the water layer is only slightly discolored by the bright orange bromine dissolved in it. Since the solubility of water in bromine is very low, there is no noticeable effect on the dark color of the bromine layer (Figure 11.15).

The dependence of solubility on temperature for a number of solids in water is shown by the solubility curves in Figure 11.16. Reviewing these data indicates a general trend of increasing solubility with temperature, although there are exceptions, as illustrated by the ionic compound cerium sulfate.

The temperature dependence of solubility can be exploited to prepare supersaturated solutions of certain compounds. A solution may be saturated with the compound at an elevated temperature (where the solute is more soluble) and subsequently cooled to a lower temperature without precipitating the solute. The resultant solution contains solute at a concentration greater than its equilibrium solubility at the lower temperature (i.e., it is supersaturated) and is relatively stable. Precipitation of the excess solute can be initiated by adding a seed crystal (see the video in the Link to Learning earlier in this module) or by mechanically agitating the solution. Some hand warmers, such as the one pictured in Figure 11.17, take advantage of this behavior.