Lab 3_ Preparation of Aspirin (1)

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Temple University *

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2203

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Chemistry

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Jan 9, 2024

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Lab 3: Preparation of Aspirin Goal: This experiment aimed to understand the synthetic skills needed to prepare aspirin while learning the process of vacuum filtration and recrystallization. Background: This experiment aimed to prepare acetylsalicylic acid, also known as aspirin, based on the reaction between salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. Salicylic acid was reacted with acetic anhydride in order to obtain acetylsalicylic acid, this product was then recrystallized with ethanol in order to purify it. Aspirin is a medication most commonly used as a pain reliever as well as a fever reducer. Once the crude aspirin was obtained, it was tested for purity by using ferric chloride. It was noted that if the reaction shows a purple color, it indicates that the aspirin is not pure and there might be an excess product such as salicylic acid. However, if the reaction does not show color that means the aspirin was purified correctly. Reaction Equation: Chemicals and Equipment used: Salicylic Acid Acetic Anhydride Sulfuric Acid Ethyl Acetate Ethanol Iron (III) Chloride
Vacuum Filtration Erlenmeyer flasks ( 125 mL, 25 mL) Heating plate Ice for an ice bath Procedure:* 1. About 350 mL of tap water was added to a 500 mL beaker, and the beaker was placed on a hot plate 2. In a 125 mL Erlenmeyer flask, 2.02 g of Salicylic Acid was added as well as 5.0 mL of acetic anhydride 3. Then, about 5 drops of sulfuric acid were placed in the above reaction flask and swirled together 4. The reaction apparatus was assembled in a water bath which was created in the first step 5. Once the temperature reached about 50 C, the time and temperature were recorded periodically 6. The reaction was heated for 20 minutes in the water bath at approximately 55-60 C 7. The reaction was then left at room temperature until the vacuum filtration apparatus was assembled 8. Then, the reaction flask was put in an ice bath for approximately 10 minutes 9. 15 mL of cold DI water was added to the reaction flask in order to hydrolyze excess acetic anhydride and left in an ice bath 10. Then, the solid from the flask was obtained through vacuum filtration 11. Once dried, the solid aspirin was weighted Recrystallization: 12. The crude aspirin from the step above was transferred to a 25 mL clean and dry Erlenmeyer flask 13. Approximately 5 mL of hot ethyl acetate was added to the aspirin and dissolved 14. The flask was then cooled down and placed in an ice bath for about 10 minutes 15. The solid aspirin was then obtained using a filtrate and placed in a labeled Petri dish Iron (III) Chloride test:
16. In a ceramic plate, a drop of salicylic acid was placed in well #1, a match head of the recrystallized aspirin was placed in well #2, and a match head of ethanol was placed in well #3. 17. About 2-3 drops of ethanol were added to wells #1 and #2 18. 2 drops of FeCl3 solution were added to all 3 wells and the reaction was observed Calculations: Results: Mass of Salicylic Acid: 2.02 g Mass of Crude Aspirin: 2.60 g Volume of Acetic Anhydride: 5.0 mL % Yield of crude aspirin: 2.61 % Yield of recrystallized aspirin 99.6 % Iron (III) Chloride Test: Purple color appeared
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Conclusion: Based on the procedure above, the mass of the obtained crude aspirin was relatively close to the theoretical amount. The water bath was set for 20 minutes with the highest temperature rising to 59 C. Once the aspirin was vacuum filtered and obtained, its weight was at 2.60 g. Based on that, the % yield of the recrystallized aspirin was 99.6%. My yield was not lower than the obtained yield due to the similarity in mass. As noted, when the aspirin was tested for purity, the color appeared dark purple. Changes: 2.00 g of Salicylic Acid 5.0 mL of Acetic Anhydride Discussion: As mentioned above, the color of the aspirin product in well #2 appeared dark purple. This indicates a mistake in the procedure as the color should have been very light or clear. The presence of the purple color indicates that too much of the salicylic acid was still present. In order for this to happen, there could have been multiple mistakes. The amount of salicylic acid added in the first few steps could have exceeded 2.00 g. Another theory is that the reaction flask was not accurately placed in the heating water bath, thus causing the products to not properly react. My third theory is that the recrystallization process could have also gone wrong causing the excess amount of salicylic acid to remain. If I were to perform this experiment again I would take careful precautions to avoid the mistakes mentioned above that were potentially the cause of the impure aspirin. Questions: 1. What is the purpose of the concentrated phosphoric acid used in the first step? - It was used as a catalyst in order to allow an increase in the rate of reaction between salicylic acid and acetic anhydride. 2. What would happen if the phosphoric acid were left out? - The reaction would be very slow or not occur at all
3. If you used 250 mg of salicylic acid and excess acetic anhydride in the preceding synthesis of aspirin, what would be the theoretical yield of acetylsalicylic acid in moles? In milligrams? 4. What is the equation for the decomposition reaction that can occur with aspirin in water? - H2O + C9H8O4 —--------> CH3COOH + HOC6H4COOH 5. Most aspirin tablets contain five grains of acetylsalicylic acid. How many milligrams is this? - 325 mg 6. A student performed the reaction in this experiment using a water bath at 90C instead of 50C. The final product was tested for the presence of phenols with ferric chloride. This test was negative; however, the melting point of the dry product was 122-125C. Explain these results as completely as possible. - This test was negative because the increased temperature of 90C used for the water bath caused the formation of byproducts in the reaction. The formation of byproducts leads to impurity of the substance which means the melting point is lower than a normal pure substance. 7. If the aspirin crystals were not completely dried before the melting point was determined, what effects would this have on the observed melting point? - The melting point will be lower because there will be traces of water since the aspirin is not completely dry.