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Set Out To Synthesize 2-Methyl-4-T

Satisfactory Essays

This experiment set out to synthesize 2-methyl-4-heptanone from the supplied starting materials containing four carbons. During week one, 1-chloro-2-methylpropane was reacted with magnesium to form the Grignard reagent. The Grignard was then reacted with butanal to produce 2-methyl-4-heptanol. Using IR spectroscopy, the success or failure of the formation of the alcohol was observed, concluding week one. During week two, 2-methyl-4-heptanol was oxidized in order to form our desired product of 2-methyl-4-heptanone. Both a GC and IR spectroscopy were observed in order to determine the presence of a newly formed ketone. The results of our experiment from the IR taken during week one showed no formation of an alcohol. The GC and IR spectroscopy …show more content…

Instead, the GC and IR spectroscopy showed the presence of an aldehyde, as opposed to the desired product of a ketone. The failure of this experiment was likely caused by a null reaction between 1-chloro-2-methylpropane and magnessium, leading to no, or very little, Grignard reagent being formed. The mixture between the 1-chloro-2-methylpropane and magnessium was conducted over an extended time period with exessive amounts of reagent used in order to attempt to push the reaction forward. However, it is believed that these extreme tactics lead to a false-positive in the formation of the Grignard reagent and produced negative repercussions down the line when further experimentation was conducted. The data obtained by the IR spectroscopy from the conclusion of week one supports this theory. The presence of a carbonyl group, with an intensity of 72.40%, and no measurable formation of alcohol were observed. The oxidation of 2-methyl-4-heptanol can neither be deemed a success, nor a failure, due to it not existing in any measurable rate within our final product from week one. However, the mixture still underwent the oxidation process in an attempt to produce any possibility of the desired product. Using IR spectroscopy, the resulting data from the oxidation appeared very similar to that of the IR spectroscopy data from week one, with a slightly lower intensity of the carbonyl group at 66.89%. The GC performed on the final product mixture revealed this carbonyl group to be an aldehyde, as previously

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