protic solvent#Polar aprotic solvents
{{short description|Solvent containing an H+ ion}}
{{redirect|Protic|the surname|Protić}}
In chemistry, a protic solvent is a solvent that has a hydrogen atom bound to an oxygen (as in a hydroxyl group {{chem2|\sOH}}), a nitrogen (as in an amine group {{chem2|\sNH2}} or {{chem2|\sNH\s}}), or fluoride (as in hydrogen fluoride). In general terms, any solvent that contains a labile {{chem2|H+}} is called a protic solvent. The molecules of such solvents readily donate protons ({{chem2|H+}}) to solutes, often via hydrogen bonding. Water is the most common protic solvent. Conversely, polar aprotic solvents cannot donate protons but still have the ability to dissolve many salts.{{Ullmann|doi=10.1002/14356007.a24_437|title = Solvents|title|year = 2000|last1 = Stoye|first1 = Dieter|isbn = 3527306730}}{{cite book|chapter=Laboratory Solvent Solvents and Other Liquid Reagents|title=CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, 102nd Edition (Internet Version 2021)|editor=John R. Rumble|publisher=CRC Press/Taylor & Francis|location=Boca Raton, FL, USA}}
Methods for purification of common solvents are available{{cite book|title=Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, 8th Edition|year=2017|author=W. L. F. Armarego
|isbn=9780128054567|publisher=Elsevier}}
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! Solvent ! Density ! Dipole moment (D) |
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| colspan="6" | Polar protic solvents |
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| {{chem2|HCO2H}} | 101 °C | 58 | 1.21 g/mL | 1.41 D |
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| {{chem2|CH3CH2CH2CH2OH}} | 118 °C | 18 | 0.810 g/mL | 1.63 D |
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| isopropanol (IPA) | {{chem2|(CH3)2CH(OH)}} | 82 °C | 18 | 0.785 g/mL | 1.66 D |
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| nitromethane {{Ref label|nitromethane|note 2|note 2}} | {{chem2|CH3NO2}} | 101°C | 35.87 | 1.1371 g/mL | 3.56 D |
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| ethanol (EtOH) | {{chem2|CH3CH2OH}} | 79 °C | 24.55 | 0.789 g/mL | 1.69 D |
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| methanol (MeOH) | {{chem2|CH3OH}} | 65 °C | 33 | 0.791 g/mL | 1.70 D |
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| Acetic acid (AcOH) | {{chem2|CH3CO2H}} | 118 °C | 6.2 | 1.049 g/mL | 1.74 D |
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| Water | {{chem2|H2O}} | 100 °C | 80 | 1.000 g/mL | 1.85 D |