Solvents for Synthetic and Analytical Chemistry

Solvents dissolve a solute to form a solution. Mostly liquids, solvents can be divided into either polar or nonpolar based on their dielectric constant.

Polar solvents have one or more electronegative atoms and can be further divided into protic (e.g., water, methanol) and aprotic solvents (e.g., acetone, DMSO) based on the mechanism of solvation. Non-polar solvents (e.g., benzene, hexane) lack partial charges due to the similar electronegativities of the bonding atoms.