What Are the Intermolecular Forces of Isopropyl Alcohol?
The intermolecular forces between molecules of isopropyl alcohol are in the form of hydrogen bonds, where a partially positive hydrogen atom of one molecule experiences a strong attractive force to a partially negative oxygen atom of another molecule. Isopropyl alcohol, otherwise known as 2-propanol, has the chemical formula CH3)2CHOH.
Intermolecular forces determine the physical characteristics of a substance, such as boiling and melting points, viscosity, solubility and surface tension. A special type of dipole intermolecular forces called hydrogen bonding occurs when a hydrogen atom of one molecule chemically combines with either an oxygen or nitrogen atom of another molecule. In general, the molecules of alcoholic compounds, such as isopropyl alcohol, methanol, ethanol and propyl alcohol, combine through hydrogen bonding.
