ABSTRACT
Solvents are important components of nature providing one or more liquid phases for chemical reactions and processes. Solvents are used to aid in mass and heat transfer and to facilitate separations and puri cations. While some solvents are available from nature even in large quantities, most of the solvents are man-made. Solvents have been used extensively to provide one or more liquid phases for chemical reactions, regulate temperatures, moderate exothermic reactions, clean equipment and clothing, isolate and purify compounds by recrystallization or extractions, generate azeotropes for separation and assist structural and/or analytical characterization of chemicals (Reichardt, 2007). Solvents can have signi cant effects on the outcome of chemical reactions and physicochemical processes including extractions and crystallizations. Both the macroscopic (boiling point density) and microscopic (dipole moment and hydrogen bonding ability) properties of the solvent affect its in uence on such processes and the choice of solvent for a chemical system. Many of the macroscopic physical properties of the solvent are dependent also on the molecular structure of the solvent molecules.
