Discussion
Which one of the following solvent environments will likely result in swelling of solid polystyrene?
Answer: D
Polystyrene swells in benzene.
A polymer swells or dissolves in a solvent with a similar solubility parameter, 'like dissolves like'. Polystyrene is a non-polar hydrocarbon with phenyl side groups, and benzene is a non-polar aromatic hydrocarbon with a closely matching solubility parameter, so it penetrates the chains and swells the solid.
Dilute NaOH, a weak HCl solution of pH 6 and distilled water are all aqueous and highly polar. Water's solubility parameter is far from that of polystyrene, and polystyrene has no groups that react with dilute acid or base, so none of them swells it.
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