Introduction
The purpose of this experiment was to understand acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes through the formation of exo-norborneol from the reaction of Norborene with acid and the excess of water. Acid-catalyzed hydration is useful in removing double and triple bonds; an unsaturated compound becomes reduced to a saturated compound in the presence of the acid catalyst, or water for this experiment. Hydration of alkenes is the result of acid-catalyzed addition of water to a carbon-carbon double bond. This leads to the formation of an alcohol. An equilibrium of hydration is created between the two competing processes. The position of the equilibrium depends on the conditions of the reactions, such as the hydration of the double bond involving …show more content…
The actual weight of the ester was 0.6 g, producing a percent yield of 30.3%, meaning that the efficiency of the reaction was accurate because percent yield was less than 100%. Anything greater than 100% means that something went wrong in the experiment.
The experimented melting point was 104.2℃, which was less than the expected melting point at 124-126℃ (ChemSpider). This was most likely due to the impurities being present in the sample, and some moisture still being present in the recovered caffeine when the melting point was determined. The source of the impurities was affected by the length of evaporation time causing sublimation of the final product.
Improvements to the experiment include adding additional extractions to ensure that all of the product had been removed. Another improvement would be to ensure that the vacuum was properly sealed for the vacuum process so that any vapors present would need escape the flask and reduce the percent yield of the Norborene. Lastly, once the ether is about half way evaporated, to turn the vial on its side to create a greater surface area of the ether in order to speed of the evaporation
The purpose of this experiment was to understand acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes through the formation of exo-norborneol from the reaction of Norborene with acid and the excess of water. Acid-catalyzed hydration is useful in removing double and triple bonds; an unsaturated compound becomes reduced to a saturated compound in the presence of the acid catalyst, or water for this experiment. Hydration of alkenes is the result of acid-catalyzed addition of water to a carbon-carbon double bond. This leads to the formation of an alcohol. An equilibrium of hydration is created between the two competing processes. The position of the equilibrium depends on the conditions of the reactions, such as the hydration of the double bond involving …show more content…
The actual weight of the ester was 0.6 g, producing a percent yield of 30.3%, meaning that the efficiency of the reaction was accurate because percent yield was less than 100%. Anything greater than 100% means that something went wrong in the experiment.
The experimented melting point was 104.2℃, which was less than the expected melting point at 124-126℃ (ChemSpider). This was most likely due to the impurities being present in the sample, and some moisture still being present in the recovered caffeine when the melting point was determined. The source of the impurities was affected by the length of evaporation time causing sublimation of the final product.
Improvements to the experiment include adding additional extractions to ensure that all of the product had been removed. Another improvement would be to ensure that the vacuum was properly sealed for the vacuum process so that any vapors present would need escape the flask and reduce the percent yield of the Norborene. Lastly, once the ether is about half way evaporated, to turn the vial on its side to create a greater surface area of the ether in order to speed of the evaporation