Question

What is the comparison of boiling point and polarity of toluene and cyclohexane?

Answer 1

Cyclohexane is a simple six-membered cyclic ring with no double bonds, there is no polarity. Toluene has a benzene ring with a methyl group attached. Benzene ring withdraws electrons from the methyl group. This creates a slight polarity to the molecule that increases intermolecular forces.

Due to polarity, toluene has greater intermolecular forces (dipole-dipole interactions). Also molecular mass of toulene is greater than cyclohexane, therefore toluene has high van der Waals forces than cyclohexane.

Due to greater intermolecular forces in toluene it has higher boiling point than hexane.