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Methanol is used to force polystyrene OUT of solution. So the simple answer is: you can't. But, there is probably an extreme temperature or pressure that allows polystyrene to remain in solution with methanol present.

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13y ago
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6mo ago

Methanol is suitable for precipitating polystyrene because it is a good non-solvent for polystyrene. When added to a polystyrene solution, methanol reduces the solubility of polystyrene, causing the polymer to precipitate out of the solution. This allows for the isolation of the polystyrene from the solvent.

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12y ago

Methanol is strongly polar and it will only dissolve polar substances. Polystyrene, on the other hand, is non polar.

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Q: Why was methanol an appropriate solvent to precipitate polystyrene?
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