Shape of Molecules and Strength
(The page may take a minute to load and configure the molecules.)
- The more surface area a molecule has the stronger it will be able to attract to other molecules.
- However, just having a large surface area is not enough. The shape of the molecule must allow it to come in close contact with the surface of another molecule.
Surface Area in Contact With Another Molecule = Stronger Overall London Dispersion Attraction Between Molecules |
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good surface area contact |
bad surface area contact |
The straight molecule can form more London Dispersion attractions than the bent molecule allowing for better attraction between the straight molecules. This might represent a saturated fat like butter on the left and an unsaturated fat like olive oil on the right. The saturated fat is solid at room temp because of the stronger London Dispersion attraction.
Dipole-Dipole attraction in green London Dispersion attraction in purple |
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