Select content modules
Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. The chemical state of the water varies widely between hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood.
Welcome to CWAnswers
CWAnswers is your guide to the sprawling world wide web. The directory aims to provide a useful guide made by users. You can share your knowledge as well - simply sign up and edit your first entry. For questions just contact the team at support - at - cwanswers.com.
Weblinks for Hydrate
Top 10 for Hydrate
Things about Hydrate you find nowhere else.
Wikipedia About Hydrate
Hydrate is a term used in inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry to indicate that a substance contains water. The chemical state of the water varies widely between hydrates, some of which were so labeled before their chemical structure was understood.
Chemical nature of hydrates
In organic chemistry, a hydrate is a compound formed by the addition of water or its elements to a host molecule. For example, ethanol, CH3—CH2—OH, can be considered as a hydrate of ethylene, CH2=CH2, formed by the addition of H to one C and OH to the other C. A molecule of water may be eliminated, for example by the action of sulfuric acid. Another example is chloral hydrate, CCl3—CH(OH)2, which can be formed by reaction of water with chloral, CCl3—CH=O.
Molecules have been labeled as hydrates for historical reasons. Glucose, C6H12O6, was originally thought of as C6(H2O)6 and described as a carbohydrate, but this is a very poor description of its structure as known today. And methanol is often sold as “methyl hydrate”, implying an incorrect formula CH3OH2, although the correct formula is CH3—OH.
In inorganic chemistry, hydrates contain water molecules that are either bound to a metal center or crystallized with the metal complex. Such hydrates are also said to contain "water of crystallization" or "water of hydration". If the water is heavy water, where the hydrogen consists of the isotope deuterium, then the term deuterate may be used in place of hydrate.
The notation of hydrous compound , where n is the number of water molecules per molecule of salt, is commonly used to show that a salt is hydrated. The n is usually a low integer, though it is possible for fractional values to exist. In a monohydrate n is one, in a hexahydrate n is 6 etc. Such water is also referred to as water of crystallization. Examples include borax decahydrate, clathrate hydrates (a class of solid hydrates of gases), and chalcanthite. Gas hydrates are clathrate hydrates: water ice with gas molecules trapped within. When the gas is methane it is called a methane hydrate.
A hydrate which has lost water is referred to as an anhydride, and can normally lose further water only upon strong heating, if at all. A substance which contains no water is referred to as anhydrous.
