Acetaminophen Synthesis Lab Report

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Purpose The aim of this experiment is to an amide is created by treating an amine with acid anhydride during acetaminophen preparation. Acetaminophen (p-acetamidophenol), the amide, is produced when the amine p-aminophenol is subjected to treatment by acetic anhydride. Experiment Data/Results We started this experiment by obtaining a 50 mL Erlenmeyer flask so we are able to transfer the compounds needed for this reaction mixture. We weighed about 1.5008 grams of p-aminophenol and placed this directly into the Erlenmeyer flask. By using a graduated cylinder, we obtained 4.5 mL of water and 1.7 mL of acetic anhydride, followed by the addition of a magnetic stir bar into our Erlenmeyer flask. Once we have all the components we need in the …show more content…

It can be administered to patients with mild to moderate pain by itself or in conjunction with an opioid analgesic for severe pain. The mechanism of …show more content…

We added a magnetic stir bar to mix the components thoroughly for the next step of heating them. Since this mixture is a reaction mixture we are going to use a hot plate to heat up the reaction mixture at about 90 ℃. The reason why we are using this temperature range is due to the fact of p-aminophenol has a boiling point of 284 ℃. We only need a certain amount of heat to keep the p-aminophenol and force the mixture to react with the heat, the best temperature range is 90-100 ℃ for this reaction mixture. We observed the reaction mixture temperature carefully by using a thermometer so the temperature does not go lower or higher than the desired temperature range. If this were to happen, the reaction mixture would produce a completely different reaction or a certain component would have been missing (dissolved) within the reaction mixture. Throughout the heating process, we observed the solid being dissolved, precipitated, and, redissolved. This was able to happen because paracetamol and acetic acid are the byproducts of the primary reaction that occurs when p-aminophenol and acetic anhydride react. This response is completed in three unique solvents; iso-amyl alcohol, water, and 2-propanol. In addition, the reaction can be carried out with or without impurities. The hydrolysis reaction between acetic anhydride and water produces H+ when water is

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