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Why does intramolecular hydrogen bonding make an organic (or possibly inorganic as well(?)) compound volatile.

What I think is that it might be due to decrease in the solubility of the compound as intermolecular hydrogen bonding cannot be done after that.

Mithoron
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5cube
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1 Answers1

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"Volatile" usually refers to ease of evaporation, high vapor pressure, so it is a property of a pure substance while solubility is a property of the combination of two or more substances.

An intramolecular hydrogen bond makes a compound more volatile because the charge imbalances are offset internally instead of by forming an interaction with another molecule.

Interactions between different molecules of the substance would lower volatility, but intramolecular hydrogen bonds prevent the hydrogen bond donor and acceptor of one molecule from interacting with another molecule.

DavePhD
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  • Charge imbalances are offset internally ?? Plz elaborate. – 5cube Feb 26 '15 at 11:31
  • The group that is the H-bond donor, for example an O atom, would have a partial negative charge, that is offset or partially offset by the intramolecular hydrogen bond. – DavePhD Feb 26 '15 at 12:17
  • Related: how is charge balance being offset affect volatility/evaporation? – John Snow Feb 26 '15 at 21:01
  • If partial charges in the molecule don't result in a dipole moment, the only interaction between like molecules will be very weak London focres – DavePhD Feb 27 '15 at 00:05