Been looking all across the internet but there doesn’t seem to be a straight answer (used a few chat bots too). CH3CN has the higher potential for making bonds with 2 addition dipole bonds on C and 3 possible H-bond on N but it has a smaller BP than CH3OCH3 even though it can only make an additional 2 H-bonds. Why though when the size of atoms and length of bonds are similar? Shouldn’t the more possible H-bond make it stronger?
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Dimethyl ether has a lower boiling point than CH3CN, no? It has to do with the polarity but mainly the intermolecular forces. The acetonitriles triple bond with the nitrogen makes it take a lot more energy than breaking up the dimethyl ether which has weak van der waals forces and can’t form hydrogen bonds with electronegative atoms like O, N , or F- oxygen in this case since the hydrogen is already bonded with the carbon
Hydrogen atoms have to be DIRECTLY connected to nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine for hydrogen bonding to occur. Just because hydrogen exists alongside another nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine doesn’t mean there’s hydrogen bonding. In both these molecules, all the hydrogens are directly bonded to carbon atoms.
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