Hydrogen bonding continued carboxylic acid dimers

Carboxylic acids are very soluble in alcohols because the acids form hydrogen bonds with alcohols. Also, alcohols are not as polar as water, so the longer-chain acids are more soluble in alcohols than they are in water. Most carboxylic acids are quite soluble in relatively nonpolar solvents such as chloroform because the acid continues to exist in its dimeric form in the nonpolar solvent. Thus, the hydrogen bonds of the cyclic dimer are not disrupted when the acid dissolves in a nonpolar solvent. 

---