Chemistry Interview Question:

Explain the term distribution coefficient in organic chemistry.

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Well let us take an example that we have and a container with both oil and water in it.

These are immiscible, know, let us say there is elemental iodine I2 in this container, iodine is non-polar, so there will be more dissolved in the oil (an organic non-polar solvent) than the water (a non-organic polar solvent). However, there will be a trace amount of iodine dissolved in the water.

K= (concentration in mol/L of I2 in oil)/ (concentration in mol/L of I2 in water)

The distribution constant describes the ratio of iodine concentration in the organic layer to that in water.
Submitted by: Administrator