Comparison of polarity between ethanol and ethyl acetate

The polarity of a substance is related to its molecular structure and charge distribution, and has a key impact on various fields of chemistry. Let's discuss the difference in polarity between ethanol and ethyl acetate.

For ethanol, its molecular structure is\ (C_ {2} H_ {5} OH\). Hydroxy\ (-OH\) is its polar group, and the oxygen atom has a high electronegativity. When bonding with hydrogen atom, the electron cloud is biased towards the oxygen atom, causing the hydrogen atom to be partially positively charged and the oxygen atom to be partially negatively charged. This polar covalent bond gives the ethanol molecule significant polarity. Ethanol molecules can form intermolecular hydrogen bonds due to hydroxyl groups, which also enhances its polarity-related properties, such as high boiling point and good solubility, and can interact with hydrogen bonds in polar solvents such as water.

In contrast, ethyl acetate has a structure of\ (CH_ {3} COOC_ {2} H_ {5}\). Although it contains polar parts such as carbonyl\ (C = O\) and ester\ (-COO -\), the overall molecular structure is more symmetric than that of ethanol. The polarity of carbon-oxygen double bonds in carbonyl groups is relatively dispersed due to the interaction with surrounding alkyl and ethoxy groups. And it is difficult to form strong hydrogen bonds between ethyl acetate molecules like ethanol, only weak van der Waals forces exist.

In summary, ethanol molecules have stronger polarity than ethyl acetate due to the special structure of hydroxyl groups and hydrogen bonds. In practical applications, this polarity difference determines that the two behave differently in the process of extraction, chromatographic separation, etc. Chemists cannot ignore it.