Synthesizing Aspirin Lab Report

752 Words4 Pages
Purpose: Finding the yield of aspirin by adding a measured mass of salicylic acid to a measured volume of acetic anhydride and then used FeCL3 on a sample of the synthesized aspirin to find if the salicylic acid is a phenolic alcohol or carboxylic acid. Procedure: To synthesize aspirin, a 600-mL beaker was filled half way with water and then placed on a hot plate. A support ring attached to a stand was used to stabilize the beaker on the hot plate; the water was then allowed to boil. A recorded mass of 2.1g salicylic acid was placed into a 125-mL Erlenmeyer flask and then a recorded volume of 4.0mL acetic anhydride was added to the Erlenmeyer flask with salicylic acid. Then five drops of concentrated H2SO4 solution was added to the Erlenmeyer flask containing salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. The solution was thoroughly mixed. The Erlenmeyer flask and its contents were placed in the boiling bath for 15 minutes making sure that the fluid inside the Erlenmeyer flask was below the water line of the boiling water. While the flask was being heated, an ice bath was prepared. To prepare an ice bath, a 600-mL beaker was filled half way with water and the other half with ice. 60-mL of distilled water was transferred into a 150-mL beaker and placed in the ice bath. The hot Erlenmeyer flask was taken out of the boiling water by using clamps and 10-mL of cold distilled water in a graduated cylinder was added to the Erlenmeyer flask in 1-2-mL proportions; the Erlenmeyer flask was swirled every time water was added. The Erlenmeyer flask was placed in the ice bath for 15 minutes so that the reaction product would crystallize. While the Erlenmeyer flask was cooled, a filtering apparatus was assembled. To assemble the filtering apparatus, a 500-mL filter flask was clamped to a stand and a Buchner funnel was placed in the filter flask. 25-mL of chilled distilled water was added

More about Synthesizing Aspirin Lab Report

Open Document