Solubility and partitioning IV: Aqueous solubility and octanol-water partition coefficients of liquid nonelectrolytes

The aqueous solubility and octanol-water partition coefficient of over 100 nonelectrolyte organic liquid solutes are related by the simple equation log Sw = -1.016 log PC +0.515, where Sw is the molar solubility of liquid solutes in water and PC is the experimental partition coefficient of the solutes in the octanol-water system. The liquids studied represent a wide variety of organic compounds including aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, alcohols, esters, ethers, aldehydes, and ketones. This finding is in agreement with that reported by Hansch and coworkers. However, these results are significant because only the experimental values for the aqueous solubilities and octanol-water partition coefficients are included, as opposed to the calculated partition coefficients used by Hansch. This relationship is extremely useful in understanding the overall solubility and partitioning phenomenon for organic liquids are provides a basis for studying crystalline solids and gases.