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Recrystallization Of Organic Chemistry Lab Report

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Veneta Dinova
CHM 2210 L
Section: 006
Lab Partner: Jake Bodway
TA: Benjamin Pollard
Experiment 4: Recrystallization of Pure Phthalic Acid, Benzoic Acid and Naphthalene
Introduction Section
Recrystallization is a technique frequently used in organic chemistry to purify solid organic compounds. The goal of this technique is to allow organic compounds to form crystal lattice structures, and to remove any of the impurities that do not align within this crystal structure.1 The theory behind recrystallization revolves around entropy; as heat will cause a organic compound to dissolve (increase in entropy), a decrease in heat will then allow that organic compound to reform (decrease in entropy) and become purer.2
The recrystallization technique utilizes the ability of a compound to dissolve within a hot solvent and produce a solution. As this solution cools, the solute reforms without impurities in a crystal lattice structure.1 For this to work properly, an appropriate solution that will not dissolve the solute at low temperatures, but will at high temperatures, must be used.1 There is no single solvent that will work well for every solute’s recrystallization; different solvents are better suited for some solutes than others.2 Some impurities that do not dissolve within the solvent can be filtered out while the solution is still hot, while other impurities that readily dissolve within the solvent shouldn’t recrystallize with the pure substance (as they are not concentrated enough to

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