Question
Why is water an excellent solvent for ionic and polar compounds?
Solution
‘Like dissolves like’ is the general rule of solubility. It means polar substances dissolve in polar solvents and non-polar substances dissolve in non-polar solvents. Water is a highly polar solvent and interacts with polar or ionic substances effectively with the liberation of a considerable amount of energy i.e. it is responsible for breaking the crystal lattice and hence explains the solubility. also, A high value of dielectric constant (78.39 C2/Nm2) and dipole moment make water a universal solvent. Water has the ability to dissolve ionic compounds in it. Because of the ion-dipole interaction.
