
    Dismiss Notice
Dismiss Notice
Join Physics Forums Today!

Hydrogen bond between tetrafluoromethane and water

  1. May 29, 2013 #1
    My textbook wrote that haloalkanes are generally insoluble in water.It is because the polar
    C-X bonds are not polar enough to make the haloalkanes soluble in water.

    Consider tetrafluoromethane
    Difference in electronegativity between F and C = 4.0 - 2.5 = 1.5
    Difference in electronegativity between O and H = 3.5 - 2.1 = 1.4
    Difference in electronegativity between F and H = 4.0 - 2.1 = 1.9

    So C-F bond is more polar than O-H bond in water,and much more polar than F-H bond
    Therefore hydrogen bonds should form between a F atom in tetrafluoromethane and a H atom in a water molecule.

    However,according to the data provided in wikipedia,tetrafluoromethane is nearly insoluble in water at r.t.p.,can anyone explain?


    2. Relevant equations

    3. The attempt at a solution
  2. jcsd
  3. May 31, 2013 #2


    User Avatar
    Gold Member

    Hydrogen Bond is a special case of a dipole-dipole attraction. It works between polar molecules. The group participating in H-Bonding must hence be polar. And obviously Tetrafluoromethane is non-polar.

Have something to add?
Draft saved Draft deleted

Similar Discussions: Hydrogen bond between tetrafluoromethane and water
  1. Hydrogen bonding (Replies: 10)