Aspirin Synthesis Lab Report

Introduction Due to its affordability and effectiveness, acetylsalicylic acid, or Aspirin, is a widely popular over-the-counter medication2. Part of a medication class called ‘NSAID’s (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs), aspirin is commonly used in the treatment of simple inflammatory ailments such as headaches and low-grade fevers2. The synthesis of aspirin is relatively simple. The two reactants are acetic anhydride and salicylic acid and the products are acetylsalicylic acid and acetic acid1. One method used to analyze the purity of a synthesized aspirin product is spectrophotometry4. Spectrophotometry is a method that uses light absorption as a means of deriving the composition of a substance4. Using the data collected from a spectrophotometer,

About 0.4 grams of aspirin were measured out and transferred into a 250-milliliter beaker. Then, 10 milliliters of ethanol were added to the beaker and the beaker was swirled to dissolve the aspirin. To the beaker, 150 milliliters of distilled water were added to the beaker and the solution was mixed. This solution was quantitatively transfer the solution from the beaker to a 250-milliliter volumetric flask. The beaker was thoroughly mixed with several portions of distilled water and the rinse was transferred to the volumetric flask. Distilled water was added to fill the flask to the 250-milliliter mark and the solution was mixed

By using our stock salicylic acid solution (composition depicted in Table 1), we generated for salicylic acid standard solutions with varied concentrations (Table 2). Using spectrophotometry and Beer’s law, we were able to calculate the amount of pure aspirin present in the sample (Table 3). The data graphed in Figure 1 is an illustration of Beer’s law. As the concentration of salicylic acid increases, the absorbance increases as well. There is a direct, positive correlation between absorbance and concentration. Using the standard curve, it was found that 99.95% of the sample was pure aspirin (Table 3). Using this information, as well as calculations of theoretical yield, we found that our true percent yield of aspirin was 76.05% (Table 4). Given the purity of the sample, it can be said that the experiment was successful.
Literature Cited Jenway. Determining the Concentration of Aspirin Using UV/Vis Spectrometry ___https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=10646 (accessed Apr 1, 2018). Morgan. G. The Established and Emerging Uses of Aspirin. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol. 2006, 99 (4). Rafferty, J. P. Beer's law https://www.britannica.com/science/Beers-law (accessed Apr 1, 2018). Vo, K. Spectrophotometry ___https://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Physical_and_Theoretical_Chemistry/Kinetics/Reacti___on_Rates/Experimental_Determination_of_Kinetcs/Spectrophotometry (accessed Apr ___1,