rank these from most intermolecular forces to least intermolecular forces: hexane, toluene, ethanol, diethyl, acetone, and ethyl acetate

1 answer

The ranking of these molecules from most intermolecular forces to least intermolecular forces is as follows:

1. Ethyl Acetate: Ethyl acetate contains both hydrogen bonding and dipole-dipole interactions due to the presence of an ester group (-COO-CH2CH3). These intermolecular forces make it the molecule with the highest intermolecular forces in the given list.

2. Ethanol: Ethanol involves hydrogen bonding due to the presence of an -OH group. This hydrogen bonding contributes to its intermolecular forces.

3. Diethyl: Diethyl is a larger molecule with more electrons, resulting in dispersion forces. Dispersion forces are the only type of intermolecular force present in diethyl.

4. Acetone: Acetone also has dispersion forces but is smaller in size compared to diethyl. Larger molecules generally have more dispersion forces, resulting in stronger intermolecular attractions.

5. Toluene: Toluene has only dispersion forces, similar to diethyl and acetone. However, it is a larger molecule with more electrons, so it has stronger dispersion forces than hexane.

6. Hexane: Hexane has the lowest intermolecular forces among all the given molecules. It only experiences dispersion forces, as it does not have any polar functional groups.