Is There Hydrogen Bonding In Diethyl Ether

Hydrogen bonding is an intermolecular force that is it occurs between molecules and is specific to hydrogen and either fluorine oxygen or nitrogen.

Is there hydrogen bonding in diethyl ether. The image to the left shows a possible hydrogen bond formed by two diethyl ether molecules. In addition this image shows a possible dipole dipole attraction because the negative unpaired electrons of one molecule are attracted to a more positively charged area of another. Hydrogen bonding occurs where hydrogen is directly bound to a strongly electronegative element typically oxygen or fluorine. The hydrogen of one molecule is attracted to the oxygen of the other.

Because there are no hydrogens bound to a strongly electronegative element in diethyl ether. There are an additional six hydrogen bond donors oriented toward the outside and these donors bind six additional diethyl ether molecules on the outside of the hexamer further sealing the capsule fig. Dimethyl ether can not form h bonding only molecules where h is bonded directly to o n or f can you have h bonding as in intermolecular force in the case of dimethyl ether the o is bonded to each c and all of the h s are bonded to c. A hydrogen attached to carbon can also participate in hydrogen bonding when the carbon atom is bound to electronegative atoms as is the case in chloroform chcl 3.

1 butanol has an oh and engages in intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Ethyl methyl ether three carbon atoms one oxygen atom is more soluble in water than 1 butanol four carbon atoms one oxygen atom even though both can engage in hydrogen bonding with water. The six diethyl ether molecules on the inside of the capsule are thus ordered by these six hydrogen bond donors. In these circumstances the electronegative element polarizes electron density towards itself to give bond polarity which can significantly contribute to intermolecular bonding.

Diethyl ether has no intermolecular hydrogen bonding because there is no oh group.