- #1
johndoe3344
- 29
- 0
I've been reading a bit, and I thought I understood it, but now I'm really confused:
I know that hydrophobic forces at room temperature are almost entirely entropy driven: because a system aims for maximal entropy, it pushes non-polar molecules into an aggregate in order to reduce the clathrate structures that water must form.
I also know that if you increase the temperature, then the hydrophobic forces get stronger.
Here's the problem: dG = dH - TdS;
At equilibrium, dG = 0 so dH = TdS.
In other words, if I increase the temperature, the entropy decreases. This would mean that a decrease in entropy leads to an increase in hydrophobic forces. Isn't this contradictory? I mean, a decrease in entropy would mean more order = more clathrate structures, so shouldn't this result in a decrease in hydrophobic forces? What's wrong with my reasoning?
I know that hydrophobic forces at room temperature are almost entirely entropy driven: because a system aims for maximal entropy, it pushes non-polar molecules into an aggregate in order to reduce the clathrate structures that water must form.
I also know that if you increase the temperature, then the hydrophobic forces get stronger.
Here's the problem: dG = dH - TdS;
At equilibrium, dG = 0 so dH = TdS.
In other words, if I increase the temperature, the entropy decreases. This would mean that a decrease in entropy leads to an increase in hydrophobic forces. Isn't this contradictory? I mean, a decrease in entropy would mean more order = more clathrate structures, so shouldn't this result in a decrease in hydrophobic forces? What's wrong with my reasoning?