Protic And Aprotic Solvents. Acetone is polar because there is a partial negative charge on the oxygen and a partial positive charge on the rest of the molecule. Polar protic solvents are capable of hydrogen bonding because they contain at least one hydrogen atom connected directly to an electronegative atom (such as O-H or N-H bonds)
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However, there are exceptions, such as nitromethane, CH 3 NO 2, which is also considered a protic solvent Unlike protic solvents, aprotic solvents will lack the amine and hydroxyl functional groups with the O-H or N-H necessary for hydrogen bonding
Acetone is polar because there is a partial negative charge on the oxygen and a partial positive charge on the rest of the molecule. For the solvents included in the table, the distinguishing feature is the presence of an -OH group, and that is the most common characteristic of a protic solvent Protic and aprotic solvents are capable of dissolving a wide range of solutes, including polar and nonpolar compounds
. [1] [2] Methods for purification of common solvents are available [3] Protic Solvents: Can readily form strong hydrogen bonds due to the presence of hydrogen atoms bonded to electronegative atoms like oxygen or nitrogen
. Aprotic Solvents: Have limited hydrogen bonding capability because they lack hydrogen atoms with proton donor abilities. The particular chemical reaction or process being carried out, as well as the characteristics of the reactants and products, influence the solvent choice.