https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.P04710
When applied to solvents, this rather ill-defined term covers their overall @S05747@ capability (@S05747@ @P04792@) for solutes (i.e. in chemical equilibria: reactants and products; in reaction rates: reactants and @A00092@; in light absorptions: ions or molecules in the ground and @E02257@), which in turn depends on the action of all possible, nonspecific and specific, @I03098@ interactions between solute ions or molecules and solvent molecules, excluding such interactions leading to definite chemical alterations of the ions or molecules of the solute. Occasionally, the term solvent polarity is restricted to nonspecific solute/solvent interactions only (i.e. to @V06597@).
See also:
Dimroth–Reichardt ET parameter
,
Grunwald–Winstein equation
,
ionizing power
,
Kamlet–Taft solvent parameters
,
van der Waals forces
,
Z-value
Source:
PAC, 1994, 66, 1077. (Glossary of terms used in physical organic chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)) on page 1151 [Terms] [Paper]