The separatory funnel was used to separate glucose, ethyl cinnamate, and cinnamic acid. The purity of ethyl cinnamate and glucose were tested through IR spectroscopy, and the purity of cinnamic acid was tested by finding the melting point.
Experimental Methods
0.604 grams the starting mixture of cinnamic acid, ethyl cinnamate, and glucose was weighed out then was placed into a separatory funnel. Diethyl ether (10 mL, 0.134916 mol) was then swirled into the mixture. Then DI water (10 mL) was added to form the aqueous layer. Once all components were added, the separatory funnel was shaken and vented until 2 separate layers were formed, an ether layer and an aqueous layer.
Extraction of Glucose: The aqueous layer, containing glucose, was drained into a 50 mL flask, then was placed into an ice bath to form crystals. After 15 minutes passed, the flask was taken out of the ice bath because it was unsuccessful in forming crystals. The glucose then was allowed to dry for 1 week, but it was still moist. A hot plate was utilized to evaporate excess water. The product was weighed.
Separation of Cinnamic Acid and Ethyl Cinnamate: Sodium hydroxide (10 mL, 0.250019 mol) was added to separatory funnel, which caused the ether layer to to split into two separate layers after it was shaken and …show more content…
Glucose is a type of sugar that is believed to be a huge factor in obesity in America. Ethyl cinnamate is a product commonly used in both edible and inedible products, including toiletries, perfumes, shampoo, detergent, and cosmetics. Cinnamic acid is a product that could be used as an antioxidant when combined with xanthan gum and allows for pears to stay fresh longer. The melting point was used to test purity for cinnamic acid, while IR spectroscopy was used to test the purity of ethyl cinnamate and glucose. Cinnamic acid had a melting point that was close to pure cinnamic acid. Glucose had peaks in the IR spectra that corresponded to pure glucose indicating that the substance was pure glucose. The peaks in the IR spectra for ethyl cinnamate did not correspond to the standard IR spectra for pure ethyl cinnamate, meaning the ingredient was not pure ethyl cinnamate. According to the results, ethyl cinnamate had a low purity, but cinnamic acid and glucose had adequate purity. Potential errors could have been accidentally mixing ethyl cinnamate and cinnamic acid in the separatory funnel with the ether layer, which could have resulted in the low level of purity for ethyl cinnamate. Also, some of the product was lost because some of the cinnamic acid