Name: Wandya Daniel

St #: 218057822
Experiment 3:
Lab partners: Sezuni P 21807573
Hoases T: 218070659
Frans H: 218090420
Date: 17/02/2020
Instructor: Mrs Martha A.
Experiment 4: Spectrophotometric Analysis of Aspirin

Purpose

The aim of this experiment was to use the Spectrophotometer to determine the milligrams of
acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) in a commercial aspirin product and to compare the mass of
acetylsalicylic acid in various commercial aspirin products.

Introduction

Aspirin is one of the most widely used medicinal agent ever discovered. It is effective as an
antipyretic drug (i.e. it reduces fever) and as an analgesic, relieving the mild pain of headaches,
neuralgia and rheumatism. The chemical name for aspirin is acetylsalicylic acid. It is an ester
derivative of salicylic acid and its common name is derived from the old German version of the
name, acetylspirasaeure.

The highly colored complex which forms between acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) and iron(III) chloride
enables us to determine colorimetrically the specific amount of acetylsalicylic acid present in a
tablet. Since the intensity of the colour formed is directly related to the amount of acetylsalicylic
acid present, a series of solutions, each with a different concentration of acetylsalicylic acid, can be
prepared and the absorbance of each solution measured. A calibration curve is then constructed
and from this curve the amount of acetylsalicylic acid in a commercial aspirin product can be
determined.

Procedure

The experiment was done exactly following all the instructions in the lab manual, except that class
was divided into groups and each group were assigned to do different tasks. Group 1 and 2 did Part
B of the lab manual while group 4 and 3 did Part A of the lab manual.

Solution %T (transmittance) Calculated A (absorbance)

A 15.3 0.815
B 8.8 1.06
C 7.0 1.15
D 4.4 1.36
E 3.0 1.52

1. Calculated Absorbance (A) for trial 1

𝐴 = −𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑇
%
𝑇=
.
𝑇= = 0.153

∴ 𝐴 = − log(0.153) = 0.815
Table for part B (preparation of commercial aspirin)
 Commercial product %T Calculated A

A 19.5 0.710

Calculated absorbance

𝐴 = −𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑇
19.5
𝑇= = 0.6045
100
𝐴 = − log(0.195) = 0710

Data Analysis

Construction of the calibration curve (A versus mg Aspirin)

1. Concentration of Aspirin in the Standard solution

400𝑚𝑔 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛
= 1.6𝑚𝑔/𝐿
250 𝑚𝑙
2. Concentration of Aspirin in each Standard Solution

Concentration calculations: 𝑉 𝐶 = 𝑉 𝐶
1.6 × 0.5
𝐶2 = = 0.08
10

Trials C1 V1 C2
A 1.6 0.5 1.6 × 0.5
𝐶2 =
10
= 0.08
B 1.6 0.4 1.6 × 0.4
𝐶2 =
10
= 0.064
C 1.6 0.3 1.6 × 0.3
𝐶2 =
10
= 0.048
D 1.6 0.2 1.6 × 0.2
𝐶2 =
10
= 0.032
E 1.6 0.1 1.6 × 0.5
𝐶2 =
10
= 0.016

3. Determine the concentration (mg/mL) ratios of the following solutions

 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐵 0.064
= = 0.80
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐴 0.080

𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐶 0.048
= = 0.60
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐴 0.080

𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐶 0.048
= = 0.40
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐴 0.080

𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐶 0.048
= = 0.20
𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑐 𝐴 0.080

4. Mg of acetylsalicylic acid

Standard solutions (mg) of Aspirin

A 1 × 400 = 400

B 0.8× 400 = 320

C 0.6 × 400 = 240

D 0.4 × 400 = 160

E 0.2 × 400 = 80

5. Plot of absorbance

Absorbance of Acetylsalisylic acid at

580 nm as its mass function
1.6
1.4
calculated absorbance %T

1.2
1
y = -0.0021x + 1.694
0.8 R² = 0.9861
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450
(mg) of acetylsalisylic acid

Determination of the mg of acetylsalicylic acid per tablet

 1. From the calibration curve equation 𝑦 = −0.0017𝑥 + 0.00322, whereby y is the
absorbance (A) of the tablet.

∴ 0.80 = −0.0021𝑥 + 1.694

. .
∴𝑥= .
= 425.71 𝑚𝑔 𝑜𝑓 𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑡𝑦𝑙𝑠𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑦𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑖𝑛

Post lab

1. The absorbance of Aspirin increases with an increase in concentration and mass.

2. The NaOH hydrolyses acetylsalicylic acid into salicylic acid, is a suitable fiction in the analysis
to calculate solution concentrations as if the ASA were still present.

Ferric ion is well known for its ability to form intensely coloured complexes with phenols, the
colour formation allows for the use of the UV/vis o.