On the mutual solubility of ethyl acetate and methanol

In the world, the mutual solubility or not is often related to many factors. Today, on the mutual solubility of ethyl acetate and methanol.

Ethyl acetate has the characteristics of an ester, and its molecular structure contains ester groups and shows a certain polarity. Methanol, which is connected to methyl by hydroxyl groups, also has polarity.

Looking at the intermolecular force between the two molecules, methanol can form hydrogen bonds due to hydroxyl groups. However, although ethyl acetate does not have a typical group that can form hydrogen bonds, there is a van der Waals force between the ester group and the methanol molecule due to the polarity of the ester group. Although this van der Waals force is weaker than the hydrogen bond, the polarity of the two allows the molecules to approach each other.

Furthermore, from the similar degree of miscibility, both have a certain polarity. Although the structure is not completely similar, the common point of polarity makes the polar part of methanol and the polar part of ethyl acetate interact and can be dispersed to a certain extent. After many experiments, ethyl acetate and methanol are indeed miscible. Mixing the two in a container shows a uniform liquid phase without layering, which proves that the two have good miscibility. The root cause is the combined effect of intermolecular forces and polar characteristics, which makes ethyl acetate and methanol can blend with each other to form a uniform system.