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Gary X
Lv 4
Gary X asked in Science & MathematicsChemistry · 7 years ago

Organic Chemistry lab question. ETHER SYNTHESIS?

in our experiment, we started with phenol and went through a series of procedures to produce ethyl phenol ether.

in our IR spec, our product is shown, but a ketone was present (1740)... along with two peaks at 690 and 753.... which could be aromatic monosub C-H... or C-Cl... which i doubt. im not entirely sure HOW a ketone appeared in our in our final product, or the peaks at 690 and 753.

if you want to know the actual procedure, ill list that too

1. mixed 5g of phenol with 8g of CH3CH2I then with 7g of K2CO3 then with 50ml Butanol.

2. heated at boiling for 1 hour then extracted solution leaving solids

3. filter solution with butener funnel to remove salts

4. used a rotar to heat and extract acetone and other solvents

5. dissolved in ether and used NaOH to extract

6. washed with brine with butener funnel again to get product

7 used solid Cacl2 to remove(didnt write what Cacl2 was suppose to remove -_- )

8 reheat and distill final product

have to do presentation on the expirment... and i want to have a good idea where the mistakes are made that caused ketone and other peaks to show... thanks in advance.

2 Answers

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  • ?
    Lv 7
    7 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    The ketone would be residual acetone from step 4.

    Why are you using acetone? It's miscible with water and organics and will lead to many problems. You just found one.

    And learn how to write and say "Buchner funnel". (And don't forget the umlaut!)

  • ?
    Lv 4
    4 years ago

    Butener

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