The
objective of this lab is to perform Diels Alder reaction using anthracene and
maleic anhydride and then to run the melting point of the product.
In a dried round bottom flask equipped with a stir bar 0.400 g of anthracene, 0.200 g of maleic anhydride and 5 mL of toluene were added. A condenser was attached to the reaction flask, and then heating
was begun. The heat was set on the heating apparatus to ~250°C to heat the mixture quickly.
The boiling point of toluene is 110°C so
excessive heating was not necessary. After the reaction mixture began to reflux, the heat was
reduced to 150-175°C to maintain reflux. After
the mixture had begun to reflux, heating continued for an additional hour. After one hour of reflux, the reaction was
removed from the heat, and the reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature. The
mass of a small filter paper was measured and the product of the reaction was
collected by vacuum filtration using the small Büchner funnel. The product was allowed
to dry under vacuum in the Büchner funnel for 15 minutes. The mass of the
filter paper containing the product was measured, and the mass and percent
yields of the isolated product were calculated. The melting point of the
isolated product was measured.
The
mass of the filter paper was 0.180g. The mass of the filter paper with product
was 0.536g. The difference gave 0.356g as mass of product. The percentage yield
was 63.12% following the formula as used on this following website confirmed
the correctness of the answer. The melting was in the range of 262.5-263.7 o
C, which seems to be supported by a similar range of 262-264 on the
following website
To
conclude, the use anthracene and maleic anhydride to perform Diels
Alder reaction was a success. Based on the melting points of Diels Alder of
262.5-263.7oC indicated that the purity of the recovered of the
substance was good.
