A universal solvent is a substance capable of dissolving a wide variety of solutes or chemicals. The substance that is considered as a universal solvent is water and the reason why is explained below according to its properties.
If we think of a lemonade, three ingredients are necessary, water, lemons and sugar. By adding sugar, it dissolves easily in lemonade, which is a drink that uses water as its base.
An example as simple as that of lemonade serves to demonstrate the properties of water in action. Water is known as "the universal solvent" par excellence. However, although water is the best known solvent and one of the most important, it is not the only solvent used in the chemical industry.
What is a solvent?
A solvent is simply a substance that can dissolve other molecules and compounds which are known as solutes. A homogeneous mixture of a solvent with a solute is known as a solution.
A solvent is always in a liquid state while a solute can be in a solid, liquid or gaseous state.
Examples of solvents are water, thinner, alcohol, milk. Examples of solutes are sugar, salt, acetic acid. An example of a solution is a saline solution made up of water and salt.
Solvents are part of various applications such as pharmaceuticals, synthetic materials, paint manufacturing, and adhesives.
Why is water considered a universal solvent?
Our body works through chemical changes that occur at the cellular level. In the same way, plants and animals undergo chemical changes in their organisms. These changes take place in aqueous solutions or solutions in which water is the main solvent.
Since water has polarity properties (negative and positive charge) and the ability to form hydrogen bonds, it is considered an excellent solvent.
The ability of water to dissolve a wide variety of molecules is the key for these chemical reactions to take place in organisms. Hence the importance that water has for life on the planet.
Thanks to its ability to dissolve large amounts of solutes, more than any other liquid, water is known as the "universal solvent." It is important to mention that not all substances dissolve well in water, an example is oils.
Oil molecules have neither positive nor negative regions of charge, that is why they are not attracted to water molecules.
Water molecules are made up of hydrogen and oxygen atoms. Hydrogen has a positive charge and oxygen has a negative charge, this allows water molecules to be attracted to many different types of molecules and therefore able to dissolve them.
There are other properties of water like surface tension, its unique density and temperature that allow water to be a great solvent.
Water exists in three possible forms, as a gas, liquid, or solid, a characteristic not commonly found in other solvents.
References
- The Universal Solvent. Definition of the universal solvent by The Free Dictionary. Taken from thefreedictionary.com
- Water, the Universal Solvent, USGS Water Science School. water.usgs.gov
- Solvent Properties of water - Khan Academy. Taken from khanacademy.org
- Universal Solvent - Definition and Characteristics. Biology Dictionary. Taken from biologydictionary.net.