Question:

Why does micelle formation take place when soap is added to water? Will a micelle be formed in other solvents such as ethanol also?

Updated On: Nov 7, 2023
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Solution and Explanation

A soap is a sodium or potassium salt of long chain fatty acids. It has one polar end and one non-polar end. The polar end is hydrophilic in nature i.e., this end is attracted towards water.The non-polar end is hydrophobic but lipophilic, i.e., it is attracted towards hydrocarbons. When soap is added to water, soap molecules arrange themselves in a cluster to keep the non-polar portion out of water such that the non-polar ends are in the interior of the cluster and the polar ends are on the surface of the cluster. Since the dirt present on clothes is organic in nature and binsoluble in water, the hydrophobic ends of the clusters attach themselves to the dirt. This cluster formation in which the dirt is entrapped is the micelle.
Micelle formation does not occur in alcohol because the alkyl chain of soap becomes soluble in alcohol.
micelle be formed in other solvents such as ethanol

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Concepts Used:

Allotropes of Carbon

The existence of a chemical element in one or more physical forms happening in the same physical state is called Allotropes or allotropy. Allotropes may show different physical or chemical states turning on the atom arrangement or the number of existent atoms. While carbon and sulfur is the common element presenting allotropy. Carbon can make further allotropes due to its five-membered valency.

Read More: Allotropes of Carbon

Allotropes of Carbon:

Carbon is part of a p-block element

  • The atomic number of carbon = 6 
  • It belongs to group 14.
  • It makes up about 18.5% of the human body by mass.

Carbon has only two types of allotropes, such as;

  1. Crystalline
  2. Amorphous

The crystalline form of carbon consists of allotropes like;

  • Diamond
  • Graphite
  • Fullerenes

The amorphous form of carbon consists of allotropes like;

  • Coal
  • Coke
  • Wood charcoal
  • Animal charcoal
  • Lampblack
  • Gas carbon