Sucrose (C12H22O11), commonly known as table sugar, is highly soluble in water. Here are some key points about the solubility of sucrose:
- At 20°C (68°F), the solubility of sucrose in water is approximately 204 grams per 100 mL of water.This means around 2 cups of sucrose can dissolve in 1 cup of water at room temperature.
- The solubility of sucrose increases as the temperature of the water increases. At 100°C (212°F), the solubility is over 487 grams per 100 mL of water.
- Sucrose dissolves readily in water because it is a polar molecule with many O-H bonds that create positive and negative regions. These polar regions allow sucrose molecules to interact with the polar water molecules through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attractions, causing the sucrose to dissociate from the solid crystal lattice and dissolve.
- When sucrose dissolves, the individual sucrose molecules separate from each other but the covalent bonds within each molecule remain intact. This differs from ionic compounds like salt which dissociate into ions upon dissolving.
- The high solubility of sucrose allows it to easily dissolve in water-based solutions, making it a widely used sweetener in foods and beverages.
In summary, sucrose exhibits very high solubility in water due to its polar nature and ability to form intermolecular attractions with water molecules, with the solubility increasing significantly at higher temperatures.
The main factors that affect the solubility of sucrose (sugar) in water are:
- Temperature: The solubility of sucrose increases significantly as the temperature of the water increases. At 20°C, the solubility is around 204 g per 100 mL of water, while at 100°C it is much higher at 487 g per 100 mL.
- Presence of other solutes: If there are other dissolved substances in the water, it can affect the solubility of sucrose due to competing solute-solvent interactions.
- Pressure: For non-ionic solutes like sucrose, pressure has a negligible effect on solubility.
The increasing solubility of sucrose with temperature is primarily due to the increased kinetic energy and greater degree of random molecular motion at higher temperatures, which helps to overcome the intermolecular attractions between the sucrose molecules and allows more of them to go into solution. The exact relationship between temperature and sucrose solubility has been extensively studied and tabulated.