2-Propanol Reaction Lab Report

In this experiment, two alcohols, 1-propanol and 2-propanol, were oxidized through combining each with an excess amount of chromic acid solution. The purpose for conducting this experiment was to determine the reaction rate constant at which aldehydes and ketones formed from the respective oxidation of 1-propanol and 2-propanol. From this value, the half-life of the alcohol during the reaction could be derived. The progress of the reaction was tracked through the color change of the solution through use of a spectrophotometer. The first 6 minutes of absorbance of each alcohol’s oxidation were graphed. The slopes of the graphs were equivalent to the reaction rate constant, k, for each alcohol. It was determined that the k value of 2-propanol

A laptop was then turned and connected to a spectrophotometer, via USB, to collect data. The Logger Pro program was opened on the laptop, and “Experiment” was selected. Once “Experiment” was selected, “Data Collection” was chosen, and the means by which the data would be collected was “Time Base.” The “duration” of time for this experiment was selected to be 30 minutes. The rate at which data was collected was ensured to be “1 samples/minute” and “1 minutes/sample.” The data was recorded at a “continuous” rate with “over collection.” Once the proper settings were chosen, “Done” was selected to prepare for recording data. From there, on the top-right corner of the screen, “Configure Spectrophotometer” was chosen, and a wavelength of light at which the data was collected was set at 440.6 nm. The data was collected by measuring “Absorbance vs. Time.” Then “OK” was selected to secure all setting

When analyzing the R2 values of Graphs 1 and 2, their respective R2 values of 0.9956 and 0.99062 indicate the regression of each trend line fits the data points extremely well. From these consistent graphs, the k values of 1-propanol and 2-propanol were identified to be 0.5753 per minutes and 0.4662 per minutes, correspondingly. The half-lives of each were then calculated: t1/2 of 1-propanol = 1.2048 minutes; t1/2 of 2-propanol = 1.4868 minutes. These oxidation techniques are not only often used in the organic chemistry lab, but are frequently used in various scientific fields and are even used to create home care products. Ultimately, this particular lab resulted in the collection of very plausible