What is the difference between hydrophobic and hydrophilic

This is because the cell membrane comes with hydrophobic components that match the molecules. On the other hand, hydrophilic particles may need protein carriers for facilitated diffusion. This is because the components of the molecules reject those of the cell membrane. To get a clearer understanding of this, picture a glass of water and a glass of cooking oil. When water is added to the oil, there is repulsion between the molecules.

But when one puts water into water and oil into oil, no reaction will be observed. Organic chemistry provides an explanation for this phenomenon. Note that water contains polar molecules; it therefore follows that polar substances and particles get absorbed or attracted by H2O. Hydrophilic molecules are known to be polar and ionic — they have positive and negative charges, which can attract water molecules.

Conversely, hydrophobic particles are known to be non-polar. Hydrophilic means water loving; hydrophobic means resistant to water.

Hydrophilic molecules get absorbed or dissolved in water, while hydrophobic molecules only dissolve in oil-based substances. A coating that causes water to bead up and roll away will keep electronics alive and well long after contact with water — so, the hydrophobic coating wins this time.

Not HZO. View all posts by hzodev Website. Hydrophilic vs. Keep on reading. The hydrophobic molecules repel water. The word Hydro means water. Thus the word hydrophilic means loving water. Hydrophilic molecules that are known as hydrophiles are molecules that attract water. Hydrophilic molecules are polar in nature. The hydrophilic molecules are largely used in a number of fields, such as chemistry, physics, food, engineering, paint, drug delivery, paper, textiles, biomedical, pharmaceuticals, water treatment, constructions, coatings, adhesives, thickeners, film formers, gallants, stabilizers, dispersing and suspending agents, humectants, flocculants, personal care, lubricants and binders, detergents, mineral processing, building products, and oil field products.

There are a large number of hydrophilic substances, such as starch, salt, sugar, keratin, protein, cotton, cellulose , wool, silica, alcohols, polyethylene glycol ethers, polyvinyl alcohol, gelatin, inulin, guar gum, albumin, chitosan, xanthan gum, agarose, pectin, agar, dextran, algin, carrageenan and so on.

Hydrophobic molecules that are known as hydrophobes are molecules that repel water. Hydrophobes are non polar in nature.

The hydrophobic interactions have an important role in many fields, such as oil-water separation, self-cleaning, antibacterial, corrosion resistance, anti-icing, protein folding, chemical separation process, management of oil spills, separation of non-polar elements from polar elements and so on. Examples of Hydrophobic substances:. That is, the hydrophilic molecules attract water molecules. The hydrophilic character of a molecule can be described as its hydrophilicity.

Hydrophilic molecules are polar molecules. Water molecules are polar molecules, which allows polar molecules to get dissolved in water. These hydrophilic molecules are called hydrophiles. Figure 1: Formation of micelles. Here, the hydrophilic part is directed to the outside because hydrophilic part attracts water. Hydrophilic molecules can form chemical bonds with water molecules.

If these hydrophilic molecules are composed of O-H, N-H like bonds, they can form hydrogen bonds with water molecules and then mix with water. According to thermodynamic relations,. Since new bonds are formed between hydrophiles and water molecules, this mixing is exothermic. Then the change in enthalpy is a negative value. Hence, the Gibbs free energy is a negative value indicating that the mixing is spontaneous.

The hydrophilicity of the hydrophiles decides how well these molecules are going to be dissolved in water. The polarity of molecules arises due to the differences between electronegativity values of the atoms in chemical bonds. Higher the difference, higher the polarity; then, higher the hydrophilicity.