By: Seth Dingas* and Jakkrit Suriboot ABSTRACT Benzilic acid was synthesized through a multistep reaction from the starting material of benzaldehyde and through the formations of benzoin and benzil. The first reaction produced benzoin by using the thiamine hydrochloride catalyst, followed by an oxidation reaction to produce benzil, and a rearrangement to synthesize benzilic acid. By utilizing crystallization, pure solid products of each step were collected and analyzed through IR, NMR spectroscopy, and other physical properties. Introduction Multistep synthesis reactions […]
By: Veronica Smith I. Purpose Formula of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to determine the formula for the hydrate alum. Synthesis of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to become familiar with the formation of hydrates and using sequential reactions. Analysis of a Hydrate: The purpose of this experiment is to verify that the compound formed in the previous experiment is alum. II. Procedure Formula of a Hydrate: After determining the mass of […]
By: Colleen Tuttle Abstract Chemical kinetics determines the overall order of the reaction, as well as the order of each of the reactants. In this lab, a series of reactions, with slight variations in concentrations were completed so the overall order of the reaction could be determined. Introduction Chemical kinetics is the study of determining the rate of a reaction under certain conditions. The rate law of a reaction uses the kinetic information of the concentrations at various […]
Using the Grignard Reaction to Prepare Triphenylmethanol By: Alexis Huddleston Abstract Grignard reagents are considered to be organometallic reagents and are therefore usually strong Lewis bases and function as good nucleophiles. In anhydrous reaction conditions, the formation of Grignard reagents can occur when the reagent is reacted with an organic halide. As demonstrated in the lab, phenylmagnesium bromide, an organic halide, can react with methyl benzoate along with the Grignard reagent to produce triphenylmethanol. Since Grignard reagents are extremely […]
By: Robert Burns Abstract: The purpose of this experiment was to successfully synthesize dihydrojasmone through a series of synthetic steps starting from levulinic acid. Then, using 1,1’-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), the acid was turned into a Weinreb amide. After a simple conversion of the carbonyl group to a ketal, the amide was reacted with hexyl magnesium bromide to give the 1,4 diketone. The diketone was then refluxed under basic conditions to afford dihydrojasmone as a light brown liquid (0.06g, 28.0%). All products […]
A Practical Use for Paper Chromatography By: Matthew Schweitzer Introduction: Chromatography is a major operation used in many different operations in chemistry. Chromatography is a method of separation in which the components of a substance are separated and distributed between two phases which are the mobile phases and stationary phase.1 There are different methods of chromatography. These include column chromatography, planar chromatography (paper chromatography), development chromatography, elution chromatography, retention chromatography, gas chromatography, and liquid chromatography.2 The experiment that was conducted […]
