Starting out, there was a mixture of an unknown acid, base, and neutral component. Just like the process outlined in the introduction, a solvent would be added to the solution containing the acid, base, and neutral unknown mixture. This solvent must have specific characteristics regarding solubility such that it dissolves the substance desired to be extracted while not dissolving or dissolving in only small portions the other substance not wanted purified out. It should also be easy to separate from the compound left in it after purification of the other so that complete purification can take take place4. This is why diethyl ether was used because it is a hydrocarbon, meaning it is mostly insoluble in water and satisfies the requirements discussed.
…show more content…
This is because the extraction is based on the separation of the acid, base, and neutral components due to their different solubilities, where one would be soluble while another is not, (as mentioned in the introduction). Solubility is the principle of compounds (known as the solute) dissolving in the solvent (often water, but in this case diethyl ether, hydrochloric acid, etc) because the charges of the compound interact with the charges of the solvent. For instance, sodium chloride dissolves in water because the sodium cation has a positive charge and the chlorine anion has a negative charge. The water molecules also have partial charges because the oxygen is more electronegative than the hydrogen atoms, pulling electrons toward itself, producing a partial negative charge with a resultant partial positive charge on the hydrogen atoms. The charges between the sodium chloride and the water interact leading to a phenomenon known as solvolysis where the solute is interacting with the solvent molecules too much to reassociate to each other5. So, the sodium chloride molecules are interacting so much with the water molecules that they do not reassociate as table salt. In the case of the extraction, the different salts were soluble in water due to this phenomenon and why extraction works because salts are produced as a byproduct of acid-base
This is because the extraction is based on the separation of the acid, base, and neutral components due to their different solubilities, where one would be soluble while another is not, (as mentioned in the introduction). Solubility is the principle of compounds (known as the solute) dissolving in the solvent (often water, but in this case diethyl ether, hydrochloric acid, etc) because the charges of the compound interact with the charges of the solvent. For instance, sodium chloride dissolves in water because the sodium cation has a positive charge and the chlorine anion has a negative charge. The water molecules also have partial charges because the oxygen is more electronegative than the hydrogen atoms, pulling electrons toward itself, producing a partial negative charge with a resultant partial positive charge on the hydrogen atoms. The charges between the sodium chloride and the water interact leading to a phenomenon known as solvolysis where the solute is interacting with the solvent molecules too much to reassociate to each other5. So, the sodium chloride molecules are interacting so much with the water molecules that they do not reassociate as table salt. In the case of the extraction, the different salts were soluble in water due to this phenomenon and why extraction works because salts are produced as a byproduct of acid-base