Excedrin Lab Report

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Compound Observations [color, crystal type, size, shape etc] Melting Range, °C Mass/Volume Obtained, g or mL
Crude Fine white powder
Crude, 110-130 111 mg
138 mg w/added caffeine
Purified Thin white flakes 215-220 9 mg

Acid-base liquid-liquid extraction was done to separate the individual components of Excedrin so that caffeine could be extracted. Acid base liquid-liquid extraction works by converting an acid or base to the alternate form by adding a strong acid or base, which allows it to become more polar and move between solvents. The solvents can then be extracted off, allowing for the individual components to be extracted. This is important for organic chemists, because being able to separate components allows for reactions to take …show more content…

This tells that some of the material was lost through various means, such as sticking to the original solvent layer or sticking to the glass.
Recrystallization was then done to purify the caffeine that was extracted from the Excedrin of any impurities that might be within. Recrystallization works by finding a solvent that will dissolve the solute only under higher temperatures but will not dissolve under lower temperatures. The minimal amount of hot solvent needed to dissolve the solute and then the solution is allowed to cool, which crashes out the desired substance in crystals if allowed to cool slowly.
Through recrystallization, 9 mg of crystals were extracted from the crude caffeine. The purity was then tested by comparing the melting range of the crude caffeine to the melting range of the caffeine crystals. The melting range was narrower and much closer to the projected value which indicated that the caffeine crystals were much purer than that of the crude caffeine. The recrystallization was done poorly because there was too much solvent added, which then had to be evaporated off, giving much less caffeine crystals than expected, at 6.52% of the expected …show more content…

Thin layer chromatography is done by placing samples on a chromatography plate, which is then placed in a beaker into a solvent. The solvent then crawls up the plate through capillary action and takes the samples with it through intermolecular forces. The sample should then drop out of the solvent at some point, depending on the strength of the attraction to the solvent versus the strength of the attraction to the chromatography plate. More polar substances should be attracted to the chromatography plate, which is coated in silica gel, whereas less polar substances should be more attracted to the solvent. Rf values, which are the distance the solute travels from the baseline divided by the length of the solvent front, are then calculated, with the more polar substances being closer to 1. These Rf values ensure that the data is accurate and consistent, even when the solvent fronts are different

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