Aspirin Lab

The past two days, we did the Aspirin Lab in class. We made Aspirin out of Salicylic Acid and acetic anhydride, using sulfuric acid as a catalyst. The process of making the Aspirin was really cool, and I learned a lot about the basic processes of Chemistry in the process. First, we combined all of the ingredients, and heated the mixture for 15 minutes in a hot water bath. Then, we let it cool, poured it in a beaker, and added ice cold water in order to form the crystals. In day two, we took the mixture, and ran it through a Buchner Funnel in order to extract only the crystals out. Once we had all of the crystals into the Buchner funnel, we pulled out the filter paper with the Aspirin on it, then placed it on the lab table to dry over fall break. I am very excited to see the results after break.

http://mumbai.all.biz/aspirin-powder-g551089

Helpful Resource showing the process:

Aspirin Synthesis