Hydrophobicity

Hydrophobic or lipophilic species, or hydrophobes, tend to be electrically neutral and nonpolar, and thus preferring other neutral and nonpolar solvents or molecular environments. Hydrophobic is often used interchangeably with "oily" or lipophilic".

Examples of hydrophobic molecules include the alkanes, oils, fats and greasy substances in general. Hydrophobic materials are used for oil removal from water, managing oil spills, and chemical separation processes to remove non-polar from polar compounds.

Compare: hydrophilic, hydrophobia.