Cinnamaldehyde Lab Report

The cinnamaldehyde and water distillate was obtained from the previous lab session and was observed for changes. The oil was on the bottom of the flask. The distillate turned clear when initially it was white. The distillate still had a cinnamon smell. The cinnamaldehyde was now to be extracted from water using an organic solvent. To choose the right solvent for the experiment, the organic solvent must meet certain criteria. It must be miscible with the substance extracted (in this case, cinnamaldehyde) and it must be immiscible in water. If it was not immiscible in water, then an organic layer and aqueous layer would not form. Other factors to take into account are a low boiling point, density, toxicity, flammability, and price. Diethyl ether …show more content…
The extraction took place three times, using a total of 45 mL of diethyl ether. After the extraction, the oil and solvent were washed with 10 mL of brine to transfer any of the organic compound in the aqueous phase to the organic phase. The organic phase was on the top while the brine was on the bottom. The mixture was dried with .53 g of anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The mixture was stoppered with a cork (for diethyl ether evaporates quickly) and sat for a few minutes. During this time, a simple distillation apparatus was set up. A 50-mL flask was pre-weighed at 55.27 g. The oil and solvent mixture was filtered into the flask using filter paper and a funnel. It was then placed in a hot bath to distill off the diethyl ether until only cinnamaldehyde remained. When the distillation was finished, the diethyl ether was disposed of while the flask containing the oil cooled down. When it was cooled, it was weighed to be 55.86 g. The amount of cinnamaldehyde was calculated to be .59 g. The cinnamaldehyde was a yellow viscous liquid with a strong smell. The distillation took 9 minutes- from 4:42-4:51 pm. At 4:45 pm, the temperature was 43 C. At the end of the distillation, it was 30