Ester Lab

Technical:  From a technical standpoint the purpose of this lab is to understand all of the technical procedures needed to  synthesize, isolate, and purify in a lab in order to create an ester.
Educational: From an educational standpoint the purpose of the lab is to teach us how to practically apply concepts that we have learned in the classroom, by the end of this lab I should understand what reactions need to take place before a 

Assuming lab procedure is done correctly when im making ethyl acetate the final smell should be an ester that smells like bananas. And assuming during the second run through of the lab I am even better at lab procedure I should have an even stronger orangey ester, called octyl acetate.

Isolation (Separatory Funnel):

An isolation of Ethyl Acetate is performed during this experiment, in this isolation we use a separatory funnel to separate to compounds from each other. This is done by taking a separatory funnel and mixing the two compounds with diffrent density's and separating the compounds from each other. The proper procedure is visually shown in the link but at a glace you hold the funnel and flip it upside down and relieve the pressure each flip by oping the stopcock while its upside down or opening the cap when its right side up, after 15-20 flips you can let the funnel rest and wait for the two layers to fully separate.

 
Purification (Distillation):

A distillation purification of an ester is performed during this experiment. In this process, we use a distillation setup to separate the ester from any impurities based on their boiling points. The distillation apparatus consists of a round-bottom flask, a condenser, and a receiving Erlenmeyer flask. The mixture is heated in the round bottom flask, as the temperature goes up, the ester evaporates first because of its lower boiling point than the impurities. The gas then travels through the condenser, where it cools and condenses back into a liquid, which is collected in the receiving flask. You will also need to watch the temperature to make sure you don't start to cause the impurity's to evaporate as well. 

Boiling point range — ethyl acetate:   77.1°C

Boiling point — beginning of distillation: 70.9°C

Boiling point — end of distillation: 73.6°C

Mass of Erlenmeyer flask: 71.13g

Mass of Erlenmeyer flask plus ethyl acetate: 83.71g

Mass of ethyl acetate: 12.58g

Theoretical yield of ethyl acetate: 15.11g

Percent yield of ethyl acetate: 83.25%

Fragrance: Nail Polish remover

In this experiment, I successfully synthesized both ethyl acetate and octyl acetate through esterification reactions involving acetic acid with ethyl alcohol and octanol, respectively. The hypothesis was shown as both esters were produced, but the smells differed from expectations, showing there were errors along the way and not enough was produced. Ethyl acetate had a distinct nail polish remover odor, and octyl acetate smelled more like citrus cleaning products rather than the fruity scent expected. I learned that while the esterification process is straightforward, getting perfect yields and perfect product characteristics is hard due to factors such as incomplete reactions and material loss during transfers. Refining the reflux time and improving separation techniques could enhance yield and purity in future attempts. Despite these challenges, the experiment provided valuable insights into ester synthesis, isolation, and purification.

The lab taught the importance of accuracy and also attention to detail in synthesizing esters. After working with ethyl acetate and octyl acetate, it had shown that minor changes in procedure make a difference in the results, like the unexpected nail polish remover and citrus cleaning product like smell. The steps of isolation and purification that the esters went through really put into perspective how important each step is in attempting to get the highest yield and purity. This also allowed me to be fully involved within the experiment and to really reinforce such concepts as reflux and separation. It was a great practical experience that really made me understand esterification and also aspects of problem-solving required in the laboratory.