Some covalent bonds with slight ionic character

5 Some covalent bonds with slight ionic character 

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This takes us back to the different types of bonding in the two components (Units 2.2 and 2.3). A compound containing ionic bonds will usually dissolve in a solvent which is also polar (see Section 2.3.4) and not in a solvent with purely covalent bonding. Similarly, a compound which is covalent will usually dissolve in a covalently-bonded organic solvent. Thus sodium chloride, an ionic compound, will dissolve in water, which is polar, but not in petrol, which contains no polar bonda Sodium chloride wiU have slight solubility in some organic solvents that have a small amount of ionic character, such as ethanol, due to solvation. We can summarise solubihty in the phrase ... 

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