In the end, it was concluded that Unknown 30A may have a low molecular weight and was an amine because it turned the red litmus paper blue, after being soluble in water. Therefore, the solubility of the unknown occurred due to weak intermolecular attractive forces of hydrogen bonds. Small amines form hydrogen bonds in water. As a result, the litmus paper turned red to blue because the amine accepted protons from their bond with water molecules, and was basic. Functional group tests were performed on Unknown 30A to help identify and rule out functional groups present and not present. Chemical reactions carried out in functional group tests only work with certain functional groups. In functional group tests, control compounds are important …show more content…
The boiling point range of Unknown 30A was 65.0 °C-67.2 °C. The two degrees difference in the boiling point range indicated that there were very few impurities presented in the liquid. The theoretically possible identities of the unknown were primary amines that contained higher boiling points than the range because of the higher altitude lab. However, sec-butylamine, with a boiling point of 63 °C, was included as a possible identities because it was only two degrees off of the range. Therefore, it was too early on in the experiment to eliminate a potential identity that was very close to the range. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was obtained. FTIR spectroscopy represents transmittance of light, reflection, absorption, and emission indicated in gases, liquids, and solids. At specific wavelengths, infrared (IR) light—an interaction between light and matter— can distinguish types of energized bonds that absorb IR light. However, the bond and electromagnetic radiation frequency must match. Based on this lab, FTIR spectroscopy affirmed functional groups present in Unknown 30A because it revealed specific transmittance bands for those functional