meth prep (fisher esterfacation)

Question 1

when preparing methyl benzoate, what was the purpose of washing the reacted solution with the first 10ml of water?

Answer 1

to remove any unreacted methanol and sulfuric acid

Question 2

when preparing methyl benzoate, what was the purpose of washing the organic layer with 10% sodium bicarbonate?

Answer 2

to remove any unreacted benzoic acid from the solution

Question 3

when preparing methyl benzoate, what was the purpose of washing the organic layer with saturated sodium chloride ?

Answer 3

to remove any water in the organic solution

Question 4

when preparing methyl benzoate, what was the purpose of treating the organic layer with anhydrous magnesium sulfate?

Answer 4

to remove any excess water in the organic solution. (drying agent)

Question 5

what are the two methods you can use to favor the formation of the ester (our product)?

Answer 5

1. ) Use excess methanol

2. ) Remove methyl benzoate or water (the products) from the reaction to drive the equilibrium to the products

Question 6

What is reflux?

Answer 6

Reflux involves heating the chemical reaction for a specific amount of time, while continually cooling the vapour produced back into liquid form, using a condenser. The vapours produced above the reaction continually undergo condensation, returning to the flask as a condensate. This way, it guarantees that the temperature of the reaction remains constant.

Question 7

Why would you need reflux?

Answer 7

Organic compounds are often volatile with high vapour pressures and low boiling points. When heated to a certain extent, they will become flammable and result in explosions. Thus, the application of heat must be done in a specific way to overcome the issue of evaporating too much solvent and drying the reaction vessel

Question 8

What is the separation process in the fischer esterification lab?

Answer 8

reaction-> water rinse -> bicarbonate wash -> NaCl wash -> drying agent -> rotovap