Based on this data, a mobile phase composed of 80% ethyl acetate and 20% hexane was selected, for it provided a Rf value significantly greater than 0 for all analgesics and showed a decent amount of separation. This is vital in TLC because it is very difficult to differentiate chemicals unless separation is seen. …show more content…
This reaction was run in a reflux reaction vessel for heat is a crucial component to this equilibrium reaction, and the retention of as much methyl salicylate as possible is vital. As seen in Figure 2 and Table 3 at the start of the reaction, there was no methyl salicylate or salicylic acid (intermediate) in the solution. However, at the point of reflux salicylic acid appeared and 20 minutes later methyl salicylate began to form. At the 40 minute mark, the majority of the methyl salicylate was formed, and there was still a significant amount of intermediate left in the reaction solution. The amount of methyl salicylate did not change between 40 and 60 minutes, so the reaction was stopped and the solution was allowed to cool before extracting the methyl salicylate with acid-base