Carbon-hydrogen bonds nonpolar nature

A property shared by all alkanes is their relative unreactivity. You will recall from Chapter 9 that the carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds found in alkanes are nonpolar. Because alkanes don t have any polar bonds, they undergo only a small number of reactions and will dissolve only those organic compounds that are nonpolar or that have low polarity, such as oils and waxes. The nonpolar and low-reactive nature of alkanes makes them good organic solvents. Paints, paint removers, and cleaning solutions often contain hexane or cyclohexane as solvents. 

Alkanes contain only carbons and hydrogens. Because the electronegativities of carbon and hydrogen are similar, the bonds in alkanes are nonpolar—there are no significant partial charges on any of the atoms. Alkanes, therefore, are neutral, nonpolar molecules, so the attractive forces between them are relatively weak. The nonpolar nature of alkanes gives them their oily feel. 

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