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CH4102 Lab Report (Expt 2) - Final Draft

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15 views4 pages

CH4102 Lab Report (Expt 2) - Final Draft

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anthonygrace.1508
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Title: Experiment 2; Preparation of Acetaldehyde

Name: Anthony Grace


Student ID: 22340599
Date: 23/02/2023
1. Introduction
The object of this experiment is to effectively oxidise ethanol (clear, colourless, volatile
liquid) in order to prepare aqueous acetaldehyde (clear, colourless, volatile liquid). Also, the
product is to be characterized by means of a pH test, a silver mirror test and an iodoform test.
3CH3CH2OH + 2H2CrO4 + 6H+ ⟶3CH3COH + Cr3+ 8H2O
Ethanol Chromic acid Ethanal (acetaldehyde)
A standard and well-known method of producing an aldehyde is the oxidation of a primary
alcohol. This method will be used. The oxidising agent, chromic acid (dark red), will be
prepared in-situ by combining sodium dichromate (orange/red crystal) with concentrated
sulfuric acid (thick, colourless, oily liquid). The aldehyde will be distilled directly from the
reaction to prevent carboxylic acid formation (by further oxidation). A pH test will be done
on the end product. A lower pH would indicate the presence of some acetic acid. A silver
mirror test will be done to test for the aldehyde group's presence. An iodoform test will also
be done to confirm the presence of a methyl carbonyl group.
Materials and apparatus: Quickfit glassware (to carry out the distillation), distilled water (to
mix with the ethanol and for cleaning), conc sulfuric acid (for chromic acid synthesis),
sodium dichromate (for chromic acid synthesis), ethanol (to be oxidised into acetaldehyde),
universal indicator paper (to estimate the pH), silver nitrate (to conduct a silver mirror test),
dilute sodium hydroxide (to conduct a silver mirror test), dilute ammonia(to conduct a silver
mirror test), potassium iodide (to conduct an iodoform test), sodium hypochlorite (to conduct
an iodoform test).
2. Method
25mL distilled water and 8.5mL concentrated sulfuric acid were added to a round-bottom
(RB) flask along with three glass beads. 25g of sodium dichromate was accurately weighed
out, dissolved in 25mL of distilled water in a beaker and 25mL of ethanol was added. The
solution was transferred to a dropping funnel and carefully attached to the lubricated
distillation apparatus as shown.
The RB flask was gently heated with the isomantle until a gentle boil was observed, at which
point the isomantle was turned off. The tap of the dropping funnel was opened to allow a
steady stream into the RB flask. The reaction was allowed to go for six minutes and 11.0mL
of distillate was collected. the pH of the distillate was found to be approximately five, using
universal indicator paper. 5mL of silver nitrate solution and three drops of dilute sodium
hydroxide were added to a test tube. Dilute ammonia was added dropwise until the silver
oxide precipitate was almost redissolved. A few drops of distillate were added, and a silver
mirror was observed. 3mL of 10% potassium iodide solution and 10mL of sodium
hypochlorite solution were added to 1mL of distillate in a test tube. an orange/yellow colour
was observed.

3. Results
Test: Result: Expected result: Conclusion:
pH 5 7 (almost The distillate is
neutral) slightly acidic,
which may indicate
the presence of
acetic acid.
Silver mirror Silver mirror Silver mirror The aldehyde is
observed produced present.
Iodoform Yellow/orange Yellow/orange The methyl carbonyl
colour colour group is present.
 11.0mL of acetaldehyde was obtained in the temperature range of 21oC – 61.5oC
 A silver mirror was formed, indicating the presence of an aldehyde.
 The pH was found to be 5, indicating the possible presence of some acetic acid.
 The orange/yellow colour produced in the iodoform test indicated the presence of the
methyl carbonyl group.

The theoretical yield was found:


Using the density value of 0.7938g/cm3 for ethanol, it was found that 25mL of ethanol
contained approximately 19.8g. The molar mass of ethanol is 46.069g/mol and by dividing
this into 19.8g, it was found that 0.431 moles were present.
The molar mass of sodium dichromate is 261.9645386g, which means that 0.095 moles
were present in 20g. One mole of sodium dichromate produces two moles of chromic acid,
which means that 0.19 moles were present. This means that the chromic acid is the limiting
reagent as at least 0.862 moles would need to be present for all the ethanol to react.
The ratio of chromic acid to acetaldehyde is 23, which gives a theoretical yield of 0.285
moles. The relative molecular mass of acetaldehyde is 68.075g/mol. When this is multiplied
by 0.285 moles, the theoretical yield of acetaldehyde is found to be 19.4g.
Using a density value of 0.809g/cm3, it is found that 11.0mL of acetaldehyde is
approximately equal to 8.90g. This means that the percentage yield is 45.9%.
4. Discussions and Conclusions
The percentage yield of 45.9% is quite low. There are a number of possible reasons for this:
 Inaccurate temperature readings
 Inaccurate measurement of reagents
 Too much of the product may have been allowed to continue to oxidise into acetic
acid. The pH reading was slightly low; so, it is reasonable to assume that this
indicates the presence of acetic acid, which may explain the low percentage yield.
The success of the silver mirror test and the iodoform test clearly support the success of the
reaction. However, the lower pH value may help to explain the low percentage yield.
To conclude, the experiment was a success overall. If the experiment were to be repeated
with close attention on the temperature ranges and with a higher pH value, it is expected
that the theoretical yield would be higher.

Sources:
reaxys.com
rsc.org

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