Nigel Baldwin | Preparation of aspirin Part 1 C0184 @nigelbaldwin3184 | Uploaded June 2020 | Updated October 2024, 11 hours ago.
High School Chemistry

Aspirin can be prepared by reacting ethanoic anhydride with 2-hydroxybenzoic acid.

3g of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid were reacted with 5ml of ethanoic anhydride in a 100ml conical flask.

3 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid was added as a catalyst.

The reaction mixture was maintained at a temperature of around 60 C in a hot water bath for 12 minutes.

After this time approximately 80ml of cold water was added to the reaction mixture and a white solid formed over a period of 1 to 2 minutes.

The white solid was filtered and washed with water under reduced pressure using a Buchner funnel.

The white solid was presumed to be the aspirin product.

In Part 2 of this procedure the solid will be re-crystallised and a melting point determined for the purified product.