Alkyl Halide Lab Report

PREPARATION AND PURIFICATION OF AN ALKYL HALIDE

Almazan, Vince Aaron R.

Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City

Date Performed: September 16, 2014

Date Submitted: September 25, 2014

Abstract

Organic synthesis of alkyl halide via first-rate nucleophilic substitution reaction SN1 is the main objective of this experiment. In this experiment, tertiary tert-butyl alcohol was reacted with the excess hydrogen halide, hydrochloric acid, to form tert-butyl chloride. The product was then purified using simple distillation. Upon purification, 5.1 mL of product, which is equivalent to 4.28 g, was obtained from the original 10 mL of alcohol reactant. Calculations showed the theoretical yield to be 9.68 g, giving the percent

They are alkane derivatives as they are formed when a hydrogen atom from the alkane is replaced by the halogen, which serves as the functional group for these compounds [2]. Alkyl halides are widely used in the industry largely as medical anesthetics, major component in fire extinguisher and fabric cleaner, refrigerants in air conditioners, etc. though these examples face sharply curtailed use now as they are now known dangerous such as chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and chlorofluorocarbon

The NaHCO3in solid state was used to neutralize the excess unreacted HCl(aq) while preventing unnecessary hydrolysis of the tert-butyl chloride which occurs in NaHCO3(aq) solution through the dissociation of the water solvent producing tert-butyl alcohol, the original reactant. The tert-butyl chloride product was then decanted into another dry Erlenmeyer flask. Anhydrous CaCl2 was used to dry the filtrate obtained and to remove the traces of unreacted alcohol in the solution as Ca2+ is an excellent complexing agent for oxygen containing compounds. Thereafter, the crude product tert-butyl chloride was decanted into a round bottom flask. A distillation set-up was prepared as shown in Figure 1. The flask containing the sample, a condenser, and a thermometer were all connected to a 3-way distilling adapter as shown, all attached to the iron stand. On one end, thermometer was connected inside the sample flask while the receiver flask was connected on the other end. The set-up was made to be tilted, where the sample flask was higher than the receiving flask, to ensure that the condensed product ends up inside the receiving flask. Through the rubber tubing, water was continuously pumped into the condenser to ensure continuous flow into and out of its interior. The water being pumped served as the cooling agent which will condense the vapor from the