Wikipedia defines hygroscopy as"Hygroscopy is the ability of a substance to attract and hold water molecules from the surrounding environment through
either absorption or adsorption with the absorbing or adsorbing material becoming physically 'changed,' somewhat: by an increase in volume,
stickiness, or other physical characteristic of the material as water molecules become 'suspended' between the material's molecules in the process.
While some similar forces are at work here, it is different from capillary attraction, a process where glass or other 'solid' substances attract
water, but are not changed in the process, e.g. water molecules becoming suspended between the glass molecules."
It sounds like the original compound is intact, just wet, not become something else.
So you should be able to dry it, and it would perfectly usable, as though it had never gotten wet.
So you should be able to dry it, and it would perfectly usable, as though it had never gotten wet.
Is this true?
gc
Yes, this is true, although some compounds are so hygroscopic that the conditions for removing the water can also destroy the molecules. This can be
really annoying in the lab - you make a nice white crystal, filter it out, and it turns into a thick gum as it comes in contact with the water in the
air. Sometimes you have to filter them in a nitrogen atmosphere and store them in a dry box to keep them.
