Definition of "solvation" []

• Any of a class of chemical reactions, such as the formation of hydrated copper sulfate in aqueous solution, in which solute and solvent molecules combine with relatively weak covalent bonds. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Lipids are categorized by the fact that they have complicated solvation ..."
• "On a molecular level, if the ink is soluble in water, water molecules surround the ink molecules, forming a little “solvation cage” because of the attractive forces between the water molecules and ink molecules."
• "Even the more typical, reliable reactions one might run are so dependent on so many factors people write books on nothing but solvation effects in reactions, for instance that although one starts with some end in mind, no one really ‘predicts’ what will happen with any authority, and even if they do, the rest of us wait for the pudding before declaring that it tastes good."