Hydrolysis of an Ester

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Oliver Fricker (CC)      Chemistry Coursework Implementation                Page

Hydrolysis of an Ester

Aim: To hydrolyse the ester methyl benzoate to produce benzoic acid and to calculate the yield of the procedure and its melting point.

Equation:

C6H5COOCH3 + OH-                              C6H5COO- + CH3OH

C6H5COO- + H+                                        C6H5COOH

Apparatus:

  • 50cm3 round bottomed flask
  • Three 10cm3 measuring cylinders
  • Anti-bumping granules
  • Water filled condenser and rubber tubing
  • Bunsen burner
  • Stand and Clamp
  • Gauze and Tripod
  • 250cm3 and 100cm3 beakers
  • Spatula
  • Stirrer

Procedure:

  1. I measured 2.0cm3 of methyl benzoate, then 10cm3 of ethanol and 10cm3 of 2.0 moldm-3 sodium hydroxide into a 50cm3 round bottomed flask containing anti-bumping granules using three 10cm3 measuring cylinders.
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  1. I attached a condenser to the top of the flask and heated the contents gently until they boiled. I then refluxed the contents for 15 minutes.

  1. I allowed the flask to cool and poured the solution slowly into a beaker leaving the anti-bumping granules in the flask. I added 10 drops of methyl orange indicator to the solution. The solution turned from colourless to orange. I then added 20cm3 of 2.0 moldm-3 hydrochloric acid to the solution. The solution turned pink and a precipitate formed immediately. I then filtered the solution under reduced pressure. This left white, ...

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