The basic difference between a solute and a solvent is that a solute is a substance that is added to a solvent to form a solution, while a solvent is a substance that dissolves the solute particles during the formation of the solution.
Solute and solvent both are substances used in chemical laboratories, pharmaceuticals, chromatography, other than they are also part of day-to-day life. A solution has two components namely solute and solvent. The solvent can dissolve the solute in a homogeneous solution.
The solute in a heterogeneous mixture is not evenly distributed, and its concentration different in various parts of the solution. The solute completely dissolves in another substance in a homogeneous mixture, and the solute is evenly dispersed in the solution.
Solute:
A solute is a substance that can be dissolved into a solution by a solvent. It can come in several forms, such as solid, liquid, and gas. The substance, or solvent that dissolves the solute molecule, separates the molecules of the solute and distributes them evenly which creates a homogeneous mixture.
The solute amount in a solution is determined in terms of its concentration. The solute concentration in a solution is measured by the ratio of the volume of the solute to the total volume of the solution.
Examples of solute consist of sugar in tea, salt in seawater, protons in the cytosol, etc.
Solvent:
A solvent is a substance that allows solutes to dissolve and form a solution. We always believe a solvent to be a liquid however it can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical liquid. A solvent can be further classified into two types, which are polar solvents and non-polar solvents.
Examples of the solvent consist of water, alcohols, methanol, acetonitrile, hydrocarbons, and esters, etc.
Solute VS Solvent
- The major difference between solute and solvent is that a solute is a substance that gets dissolved whereas a solvent is a dissolving medium.
- The boiling point of solute is higher than solvent, while the boiling point of solvent is lower than solute.
- Solutes may exist in solid, liquid, or gaseous states, while solvents are often liquid.
- Solubility of solute depends on the properties of the solute such as surface area and size of molecules, and the properties of both the solvent and the solute are interdependent of each other.
- The amount of solute in a solution is less than the amount of solvent in a solution, while the amount of solvent in a solution is greater than the amount of solute in a solution.
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