How do hydration and solvation differ?
1 Answer
Solvation, is the process of attraction and association of molecules of a solvent with molecules or ions of a solute. As ions dissolve in a solvent they spread out and become surrounded by solvent molecules. The bigger the ion, the more solvent molecules are able to surround it and the more it becomes solvated.
if the solvent is water, we call this process hydration. Hydration is the process of attraction and association of molecules of water with molecules or ions of a solute. When sodium Chloride is dissolved in water, Sodium ions being positive charged particles get surrounded by water molecules through their Oxygen ends. Chloride ions being negative charged particles get surrounded by water molecules through their Hydrogen ends.
Good explanation and graphs on this website: http://www.4college.co.uk/a/O/energy.php
