4 Acetamidolphenol Lab Report

The compound was identified to be 4-acetamidolphenol, because it had an average melting range of 168.0°C-170.7°C. The accepted melting range for 4-acetamidolphenol is 168°C-172°C, so the separation techniques produced an almost pure sample. When the purified compound was mixed with 4-acetamidolphenol, the melting range (with the correction factor applied) was 166.8°C – 170.1°C, which was close enough to confirm the results. The mixed melting point was indeed slightly lower than what 4-acetamidolphenol should be in its pure form, but that may have been due to some impurities dissolving in the solvent, resulting in a melting point slightly lower than the ranges given.
To purify the unknown, it was dissolved in hot water as its solvent, filtered
to remove impurities, and then cooled to reform crystals separated from the water by vacuum filtration. The macroscale recrystallization technique started with 0.5003 g and yielded a product weighing 0.1573 g, and the microscale recrystallization technique started with 0.0751 g and yielded a product weighing 0.0241 g. This technique resulted in a 31.44% yield for macroscale recrystallization and a 32.09% yield for microscale recrystallization. Both macroscale and microscale recrystallization gave similar yield percentages, but macroscale recrystallization seems to be more efficient as more product can be formed on a bigger scale. Although additional information using NMR or IR would have been beneficial in identifying the unknown for certain and in comparing the purities using macroscale and microscale recrystallization techniques, unknown #77 was determined to be 4-acetamidolphenol through recrystallization and melting range techniques.