Hydrate

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This article is about chemical compounds. For

hydration in humans or animals, see drinking.

In chemistry, a hydrate is a substance that contains

water or its constituent elements. The chemical
state of the water varies widely between different
classes of hydrates, some of which were so labeled
before their chemical structure was understood.

Chemical nature

Inorganic chemistry
Main article: Water of crystallization

Hydrates are inorganic salts "containing water

molecules combined in a definite ratio as an integral
part of the crystal"[1] that are either bound to a
metal center or that have crystallized with the metal
complex. Such hydrates are also said to contain
water of crystallization or water of hydration. If the
water is heavy water in which the constituent
hydrogen is the isotope deuterium, then the term
deuterate may be used in place of hydrate.
[citation needed]

Anhydrous Cobalt(II) chloride

cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate
CoCl2 (blue) CoCl2·6H2O (pink)

A colorful example is cobalt(II) chloride, which turns

from blue to red upon hydration, and can therefore
be used as a water indicator.

The notation "hydrated compound∙nH2O", where n

is the number of water molecules per formula unit of
the salt, is commonly used to show that a salt is
hydrated. The n is usually a low integer, though it is
possible for fractional values to occur. For example,
in a monohydrate n = 1, and in a hexahydrate n = 6.
Numerical prefixes mostly of Greek origin are:[2]

Hemi – 0.5 Hepta – 7

Mono – 1 Octa – 8

Sesqui – 1.5 Nona – 9

Di – 2 Deca – 10

Tri – 3 Undeca – 11

Tetra – 4 Dodeca – 12

Penta – 5 Trideca – 13

Hexa – 6 Tetradeca – 14

A hydrate that has lost water is referred to as an

anhydride; the remaining water, if any exists, can
only be removed with very strong heating. A
substance that does not contain any water is
referred to as anhydrous. Some anhydrous
compounds are hydrated so easily that they are said
to be hygroscopic and are used as drying agents or
desiccants.

Organic chemistry

In organic chemistry, a hydrate is a compound

formed by the hydration, i.e. "Addition of water or of
the elements of water (i.e. H and OH) to a molecular
entity".[3] For example: ethanol, CH3−CH2−OH, is
the product of the hydration reaction of ethene,
CH2=CH2, formed by the addition of H to one C and
OH to the other C, and so can be considered as the
hydrate of ethene. A molecule of water may be
eliminated, for example, by the action of sulfuric
acid. Another example is chloral hydrate,
CCl3−CH(OH)2, which can be formed by reaction of
water with chloral, CCl3−CH=O.

Many organic molecules, as well as inorganic

molecules, form crystals that incorporate water into
the crystalline structure without chemical alteration
of the organic molecule (water of crystallization).
The sugar trehalose, for example, exists in both an
anhydrous form (melting point 203 °C) and as a
dihydrate (melting point 97 °C). Protein crystals
commonly have as much as 50% water content.

Molecules are also labeled as hydrates for historical

reasons not covered above. Glucose, C6H12O6, was
originally thought of as C6(H2O)6 and described as a
carbohydrate.

Hydrate formation is common for active ingredients.

Many manufacturing processes provide an
opportunity for hydrates to form and the state of
hydration can be changed with environmental
humidity and time. The state of hydration of an
active pharmaceutical ingredient can significantly
affect the solubility and dissolution rate and
therefore its bioavailability.[4]

Clathrate hydrates
Main article: Clathrate hydrate

Clathrate hydrates (also known as gas hydrates, gas

clathrates, etc.) are water ice with gas molecules
trapped within; they are a form of clathrate. An
important example is methane hydrate (also known
as gas hydrate, methane clathrate, etc.).

Nonpolar molecules such as methane can form

clathrate hydrates with water, especially under high
pressure. Although there is no hydrogen bonding
between water and guest molecules when methane
is the guest molecule of the clathrate, guest–host
hydrogen bonding often forms when the guest is a
larger organic molecule such as tetrahydrofuran. In
such cases the guest–host hydrogen bonds result in
the formation of L-type Bjerrum defects in the
clathrate lattice.[5][6]

Stability

The stability of hydrates is generally determined by

the nature of the compounds, their temperature, and
the relative humidity (if they are exposed to air).

See also

References

Last edited 7 days ago by OAbot

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