solvent
Sign in to savethumb|A solvent dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution thumb|Ethyl acetate, a nail polish solvent.
AI overview
A solvent is a liquid that dissolves other substances (called solutes) to create a mixture called a solution. Solvents are important in everyday applications—for example, ethyl acetate is used in nail polish to keep the color in liquid form until it's applied.
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Article
31 sectionsContents
- Solutions and solvation
- Solvent classifications
- Other polarity scales
- Polar protic and polar aprotic
- Physical properties
- Properties table of common solvents
- Nonpolar [[hydrocarbon]] solvents
- Nonpolar [[ether]] solvents
- Nonpolar [[chlorocarbon]] solvents
- Polar [[Aprotic solvent|aprotic]] solvents
- Polar [[protic]] solvents
- Hansen solubility parameter values
- Non-polar solvents
- Polar aprotic solvents
- Polar protic solvents
- Boiling point
- Density
- Multicomponent solvents
- Solvents
- Thinners
- Safety
- Fire
- Explosive peroxide formation
- Health effects
- Acute exposure
- Chronic exposure
- Environmental contamination
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
thumb|A solvent dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution thumb|Ethyl acetate, a nail polish solvent.
A solvent (from the Latin solvō, "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for polar molecules, and the most common solvent used by living things; all the ions and proteins in a cell are dissolved in water within the cell.