Observations
Most natural products and many commercial preparations are mixtures containing a number of different substances. To obtain a pure compound from such a mixture, you must separate the desired compound from the other components of the mixture by taking advantage of differences in their physical and chemical properties. Acidic or basic substances are often converted to water-soluble salts, which can then be separated from the water-insoluble components of a mixture. In this experiment, we separated the components of a simulated pharmaceutical preparation, making use of their acid-base properties. The Panacetin was weighed at 3.00grams. The filter paper weight was .218 grams. The sucrose weight was 1.389grams. We mixed 25 ml of NaHCO3 with filtrate (Panacetin and Dichloromethane) in a flask. The substance was a cloudy mixture. Next we titrated the filtrate to the separatory funnel. The Dichloromethane was a yellowish color, and the NaHCO3 was a clear residue. The dichloromethane was combined with another 25ml of NaHCO3. The solution was yellowish and cloudy. 10Ml of 6M Hydrochloric acid was added to the dichloromethane. It produced an acidic and bubbling reaction. We tested the ph of this solution by placing a piece of ph tape into the solvent. The ph was at a 1. The mixture was cooled by placing it over into an ice/water bath for 15-20 minutes. This produced aspirin. We extracted the aspirin by vacuum filtration, and washed it on the filter with cold distilled water. The aspirin was set aside and placed in the microwave to dry. After the aspirin was dry we weighed it (0.227grams). To isolate the unknown component we used a filter flask attached to a trap and aspirator to evaporate the solvent from the dicholormethane solution. We heated the solution over a plate for 30 minutes. This produced a light brown, flaky substance.
Discussion
Purifying the substances was a