dichloromethane as a solvent

[Bali]

basic question...polar or non polar?

the structure says it should be polar, but one of the practice problems i did said it was non polar. say whatttt.

orgo was a while back for me, but i remember there was a straight answer for DCM when i was in the class. im reading both things on the internet.

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[loveoforganic]

It's very, very slightly polar - much less than you would expect given the structure. However, the large bulky chlorines repel each other, making the structure actually look like more of a seesaw than tetrahedral.

 

[Bali]

hmm ok so if it says DCM is used as a solvent, would we assume that it was polar or non polar?

 

[Nicole313]

From Kaplans high-yield problems, it states dichloromethane is an organic, nonpolar solvent. So for solubility questions you would use it as "like dissolves like" and molecules that are most nonpolar will be most soluble in dichloromethane.

 

[Bali]

thanks yall!

 

[orgohacks]

From Kaplans high-yield problems, it states dichloromethane is an organic, nonpolar solvent. So for solubility questions you would use it as "like dissolves like" and molecules that are most nonpolar will be most soluble in dichloromethane.

Yes, dicholoromethane is completely immiscible with water, and it will dissolve organic compounds extremely well. Generally not considered in the same category as polar aprotic solvents like DMSO, DMF, acetonitrile, acetone, etc.

 

[SoonerLuke]

yeah we always used dichloromethane (methylene dichloride) as the main organic (non-polar) solvent for our organic chemistry lab