Based upon your knowledge of molecular structure, why doesn't hydrogen dissolve in water?

1 Answer
anor277
Dec 29, 2016

Well, I suppose principally because of the size and non-polarity of the hydrogen molecule.............

Explanation:

As I recall, and you will have to back this up with actual data, the solubility of homonuclear diatomic gases in water is fairly comparable, and of course the solubility of gases in water decreases with increasing temperature.

Dihydrogen is non-polar, and is not effectively solvated by the water molecule. Heteronuclear diatomic gases, #CO#, #NO#, would exhibit much greater water solubility at a given temperature. What about the #"solubility"# of #HCl(g)#?

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