Why can benzene dissolve in CCl4 but not in water?
Benzene is a nonpolar molecule as well as carbon tetrachloride, however water is a polar molecule. Based on the rules of solubility, “like dissolves like”; the attraction between nonpolar molecules have the same kind of interaction and strength but the attractions between the highly polar molecule of water are very different, therefore substituting these attractions for new attraction with benzene will require a greater change in enthalpy.
