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Questions tagged [solvents]

A liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution that is soluble in a certain volume of solvent at a specified temperature.

408 questions
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What organic solvents are suitable to use with potassium permanganate?

I'm attempting to oxidize a substance with potassium permanganate and I was wondering what organic solvents I have at my disposal. The compound is soluble in chloroform and ethanol, but obviously those would not do well with a powerful oxidizing…
Radu
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Remove labels from jars?

How can I remove labels from jars? Sometimes I like to recycle jars for my own use, but normally I want to remove the label first. I find this extremely difficult to do. With ordinary stickers, like the stickers found as price tags on books, acetone…
Shaka Boom
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Speed of unmixing between polar and nonpolar solvent

I have put water and silicone oil (viscosity 100 cSt) together into a jar. Then I colored the water blue to make identifying the interfaces easier. When I shake it heavily, a kind of silicone+water "foam" builds up, which only unmixes very slowly.…
oliver
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Is there a substance that will eat through and completely dissolve carbon but not damage engine cylinder, piston nor rings?

I'm afraid that when I was instructed to be specific in the title of my post, I kind of said it all... Here is the issue: I have a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo. It has been going through excessive amounts of oil. No blue smoke, no drips whatsoever. Through an…
brucemc777
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Solubilizing ability of dichlorobenzenes

I am trying to understand why 1,2- and 1,3-dichlorobenzenes are such good solvents, able to solvate many organic compounds known to be hard to get dissolved. Any precise answer? It has something to do with dipolar moment and Hansen's diffusion…
Sebby
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Acetic Acid type of solvent

I want to ask a question about polar/non-polar (a)protic solvents. The following information was given to me in the lecture hall today regarding solvents in organic chemistry. I recall the structure of Acetic Acid as $\ce{CH3COOH}$ but surely…
vik1245
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Is there an inexpensive solvent I can use to dissolve thermal paste without scrubbing?

I'm removing large voltage regulators from circuit boards which are often coated with a generous amount of thermal grease. I've found that 70% isopropyl alcohol works great for softening this and removing it with some light scrubbing. The problem I…
Zhro
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Which chemical should I use to wash soot precipitate from cast iron?

The soot deposition is quite strong (almost like graphite) and my iron object has a complicated shape with many grooves. Which chemical would dissolve the carbon without oxidizing the iron?
Sergey
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Washing a solvent?

Why would you wash a solvent with $\ce{NaOH}$ solution? Does $\ce{NaOH}$ solution help water and solvent separate like $\ce{NaCl}$ solution does (salting out)? Would you wash with hot or cold $\ce{NaOH}$ solution/water? Anybody know anything about…
user14701
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How can I solvent exchange from water to alcohol?

Given an aqueous colloidal solution, is there a way to transfer the colloidal particles into an alcohol (assuming the colloidal particles are also stable in the alcohol)? I see in the literature that lyophilizing the aqueous solution and…
user62878
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Looking for a Solvent for Fragrance Oils

Hi I am looking for a solvent for fragrance oils, that has low evaporation and high diffusivity (low molecular weight and hence spreads well in the air). The solvent should also be soluble in water and should have a low evaporation rate (I tried…
Rahul
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What compounds are created by mixing Styrofoam and paint thinner?

Yesterday I watched several videos that make a waterproof coat by disolving Styrofoam with paint thinner (my guess is that they use acetone). Will this recipe work for an emergency? Is it toxic (I don't want my pets to fell sick)?
user51541
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How "strong" is Pine Sol as a solvent?

How "strong" of a solvent is Pine Sol? Is it relatively benign like Isopropyl Alcohol, stronger like Acetone, or ridiculous like TCE? Without a background in chemistry (mine is electrical engineering), I'm trying to get a "feel" for what materials I…
iAdjunct
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Suggestions for solvents capable of efficiently performing alpha-bromination and nucleophilic substitutions

We performed the one-pot preparation of bupropion in class where the bromination of the carbon adjacent to the carbonyl group was performed using DCM as solvent, and upon completion the solvent was switched to n-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and was then…
Jeffrey Schultz
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Removing Epoxy Glue from a ceramic piezostack

I am going to stick a strain gauge to the side of an expanding piezocrystal using a basic 2 part epoxy glue. I am eventually also going to be sticking other things to it. Does anyone know a safe way to remove the glue without damaging the…
Roshan
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