Through the process of esterification, we take an alcohol, in this case methanol and add it to a carboxylic acid, acetylsalicylic acid.
Add 13.0g of Aspirin to 60mL of methanol. Then add about 10.0mL of sulfuric acid. Heat the mixture in a water bath for one hour then boil off remaining methanol.
The smell of methyl salicylate “oil of wintergreen” is immediately obvious. This chemical, like many esters, finds use in the food industry.
WARNING: methyl salicylate, methanol and Aspirin are extremely toxic.
Filmed: 12/23/2009
(C) 2009 Quantum Wasteland
Duration : 0:4:41
[youtube ro1UKCBKxG8]
Tags: aspirin, candle, chemistry, christmas, demo, Demonstration, easy, Experiment, from, h2so4, holidays, make, methanol, Quantum, QuantumWasteland, QW, scented, science, time, Wasteland
I think you’re …
I think you’re highly inflating the “danger” of methanol, we use it as a fuel in racecars, and i’ve been coated head to toe in it. It just an alcohol, i’d say the most dangerous part of it is the fact that it burns clear in daylight.
You can make them …
You can make them yourself actually. Check NurdRage for how to make potassium nitrate and AlChemicalGarden for how to make sulfur. Hope that helps.
there’s no need to …
there’s no need to use a respirator when handling methanol. just wear gloves.
i know that …
i know that methanol is very toxic. But will a half mask respirator stop methanol vapor. the box said it absorbed organic solvents so im pretty sure it will
Also, why do you use a burner instead of a hotplate isnt methanol highly flamable
You can obtain the …
You can obtain the pure ester, by refluxing in methanol + H2SO4 for 4 hours, followed by evaporating most methanol, extract 2 times with ether or dichloromethane, wash with sat. NaHCO3 solution, until no gas evolution, wash with water, dry over magnesium sulfate, and evaporate the solvent.
I did a ester …
I did a ester hydrolysis reaction at school. Turning Methyl Salicylate into salicylic acid
hey dude where did …
hey dude where did you buy that propane burner
Aspirin pills here
Aspirin pills here
Nice experiment. I …
Nice experiment. I guess ideally. You would filter the methanol /aspirin mixture before you heat it to remove the filler. And do the reaction with a reflux setup. Then distill off the the excess methanol, and methyl acetate.
Also what …
Also what concentrations do I need to get ideal combustion? Please Reply or better yet make a video =D THANKS!!!
Off topic… but I …
Off topic… but I would make black powder know it is made from potassium nitrate sulfur and charcoal. Where may I find pure forms of sulfur and potassium nitrate? and where might I find them in common chemicals? I’m pretty sure I can get a high concentration of potassium nitrate out of stump remover granules…how might I separate sulfur and potassium nitrate from concentrations too low to be useful? Where can I get fireworks fuse (the green stuff) for safe ignition?
yes, but test tubes …
yes, but test tubes are incredibly cheap.
dont you think …
dont you think instead of breaking the tube, you could have just heated the sides a bit, to melt the layer of wax binding it to the glass, then slide the candle out?
i’ve never heard of …
i’ve never heard of that.
ive heard this from …
ive heard this from someone, but i dont know it is true, but i thought id ask, can the sulfuric acid be substituted with a solution of sodium bisulfate?
show the exhaust …
show the exhaust fan setup. It’d help those of us who need to figure something out as far as fumes.
Gladly, I just have …
Gladly, I just have to wait for my sulfuric acid to ship
make a video …
make a video response. i’d still like to see it.
@QuantumWasteland
…
@QuantumWasteland
Thank you.
BTW, love the new channel!
ok, i’ll keep that …
ok, i’ll keep that in mind. i still do experiments under an exhaust fan.
to dissolve any …
to dissolve any excess aspirin, etc. you should actually add some bicarbonate to the solution to neutralize the H2SO4 that remains, but this is optional. Also, methyl salacylate is very insoluble in water.
Oh I will.
Oh I will.
i’m just wondering …
i’m just wondering what purpose adding water to the separatory funnel serves? methanol and water are miscible so an aqueous layer and a solvent layer wouldn’t form right?
@ggglllllll
Most …
@ggglllllll
Most home chemists don’t have a fume hood and it’s been about – 2 C outside lately where I live. We need more experiments like this one that don’t evolve toxic gases.
for safer …
for safer possibilities i would say do it outdoors or in a fumehood