Introduction Acetanilide is a white, crystal-like compound which is the resultant of the synthesis of aniline and acetic anhydride. In 1886, acetanilide was implemented into medicinal practice by P. Hepp and A. Cahn and was the first derivative of aniline that was found to be a pain-reliever. The compound has also been utilized in the manufacturing of other drugs such as penicillin and sulfonamide drugs. Acetanilide can be used as an inhibitor for the decomposition in H2O2 solutions and in the production of dyes. The purpose of this experiment is to organically synthesize acetanilide, as well as acetic acid, through the combination of acetic anhydride and aniline. Purification techniques such as the usage of charcoal, are used to remove colour …show more content…
In this reaction, aniline comes together with acetic anhydride to form acetanilide, with the side product acetic acid. Successful synthesis requires a short and efficient procedure. This eliminates some source of error as well as produces a higher amount of desired product. Loss in percent yield is increased with each additional step in the process. The preparation of acetanilide has a fairly concise procedure which ensures a higher probability of having a more successful percent yield. Procedure The First Year Chemistry 121/123 Lab Manual provided a procedure which was followed with the following modifications. Under a fume-hood, 2.05mL of aniline was weighed out using a top-loading balance in a pre-weighed 250mL Erlenmeyer flask with stopper. 15mL of water and 2.5 mL of acetic anhydride was then added to the flask with periodic swirling. Solution was mixed for five minutes total. To begin the recrystallization process, the stopper was removed and 50mL of water was added to the same flask. Once back at benchtop, a single boiling stone was placed into the Erlenmeyer flask, and solution was then heated and swirled. Once the crystals were dissolved, the solution was taken off the