Acetaminophen Research Paper

Acetaminophen is a common analgesic used to treat mild pain. We synthesized acetaminophen by reacting p-aminophenol and acetic anhydride. The amine group on the p-aminophenol reacted with the center oxygen atom on the acetic anhydride to form an amide. We reacted 0.210g of p-aminophenol with 0.240ml of acetic anhydride in the presence of heat, and then cooled the solution in an ice bath until crystals formed. The solid acetaminophen was filtered from the solution and then subjected to a recrystallization using a 50:50 water-ethanol solvent. 0.1484g of crude acetaminophen was measured and after purification 0.0669g of pure acetaminophen was collected. A percent yield of 23% was calculated from our theoretical and actual yield. The melting point
of the purified sample was 171-173 degrees Celsius, which falls in between its observed melting point (171-174 degrees Celsius), suggesting that the sample was purified adequately.