The de-ionization of strongly polar liquids

Abstract

Unlike hydrocarbons and some mildly polar compounds, the numerous strongly polar liquids of organic chemistry have been hitherto neglected both in research and engineering. This lack of interest may be ascribed to the incredible sensitivity of these liquids to electrolytic pollution, which has made them quite unmanageable until recently. At present, however, modern ion exchangers, coupled with efficient dehydration techniques, allow the resistivities of such liquids to be improved by several orders of magnitude. In two important cases, ethyl and methyl alcohols, the measured conductivity matches the theoretical expectations within 10%. Similar work with acetone and nitrobenzene has not been conclusive as yet although the actual resistivities have reached the 10¹¹-10¹² ohm cm range. It is hoped that some strongly polar liquids will eventually play their part in research and engineering because of their unique features of high dielectric constant and high molecular anisotropy.