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Virtual Lab Manual
Recrystallization: Purify your
solid
Synopsis
This is the full-length version of the “Recrystallization” simulation. You can also play the
simulation in two smaller parts: “Recrystallization: Filter your crystals and measure the
melting point” and “Recrystallization: Dissolve your solid and precipitate your crystals.”
How can we purify a solid?
In this simulation, you will learn step by step how to purify a solid by using the
recrystallization technique, and on top of that you will be able to filtrate your solid and
check for its melting point range.
Recrystallize, filter, and check purity!
At the end of the simulation you will master three different techniques (yes you heard that
right; three!): recrystallization, suction filtration, and melting point range.
Accelerated learning
Master the three techniques in a fraction of the time that it would take you in a real lab.
Thanks to our ability to fast-forward time in our virtual labs, you’ll be able to skip all those
waiting times in the process.
Understand the entire process and complete it step-by-step
You will apply three different techniques, but don’t worry, you will be presented with a whole
overview of the process together with detailed instructions on how to complete the protocol.
You’ll never be alone!
Learning Objectives
● Explain the fundamentals of recrystallization theory and be able to describe the
process on molecular and operational levels
● Carry out the recrystallization technique by following best practices
● Be able to troubleshoot and rectify common problems encountered in
recrystallization
● Successfully recover a reaction product by performing suction filtration and drying the
crystalline solid product
● Determine the melting point of a pure solid compound and by comparison explain the
difference from crude sample data
Techniques in Lab
● Recrystallization
● Suction Filtration
● Melting Point Range
Theory
Methanol
Methanol is an organic solvent with the formula CH3OH. At room temperature, methanol is a
light liquid, transparent, flammable, and toxic. It's used as antifreeze, solvent, and fuel (Fig.
1).
Figure 1: Methanol Risk
Naphthalene
Naphthalene is a white, volatile, solid polycyclic hydrocarbon with a strong mothball odor.
It's chemical formula is C10H8. Naphthalene is known to present a health and environmental
hazard and may cause irritation to the skin or eyes (Fig. 2).
Naphthalene is used as a moth repellent, fumigant, or lubricant and for many other
purposes.
Activated Charcoal
Activated charcoal, also known as activated carbon, is a form of carbon with high porosity.
This high porosity increases its surface area dramatically. The number of internal pores is so
large, that one gram of activated charcoal has a surface area of 3,000 square meters, that's
approximately half of the surface of a soccer or football pitch in just 1 gram of activated
charcoal!
Activated charcoal has many different uses, but the most common is the purification of
compounds. Since activated charcoal has such a big surface area, it has a high efficiency
ADSORBING impurities from mixtures.
Recrystallization Steps
The recrystallization process separates impurities from a solid. Some impurities can cause,
for example, a solid to have a different color to its pure form, or be weaker than it otherwise
should.
This is achieved by dissolving the solid in a hot solvent and then cooling it to allow the
formation of crystals.
In order to perform the recrystallization of a compound, there are several steps that need to
be followed:
Choose your solvent
The first step is choosing a solvent that is adequate for the solid to purify. The solvent must
dissolve the solid when it's hot, but NOT when it's cold.
Dissolve your solid in the hot solvent
Heat up your solvent to its boiling point and dissolve the solid in it. Note that some of the
impurities in the solid might not be soluble in the solvent.
Add activated charcoal and filter it
This step depends on the type of impurities in your solid. Once the solid is dissolved in your
solvent, add a bit of activated charcoal. The activated charcoal will adsorb a lot of the
impurities. After the activated charcoal has adsorbed the impurities, filter it out of the
solution while it is still VERY HOT, otherwise, you might risk getting crystals in your funnel
and filter. Remember to always use a filter the same size as the funnel for effective
filtration.
Cool down the solution
The solution needs to be cooled down in two steps. First, the conical flask needs to be
cooled down to room temperature, and once it is at room temperature, it can be placed in
an ice bath for further cooling. If the solution is placed straight into an ice bath, the fast
cooling and formation of crystals could trap some of the impurities again in the crystals,
making the purification less efficient.
Enjoy your crystals!
If you performed these steps correctly you will see crystals starting to form in your flask.
Those crystals will have fewer impurities than the original ones you dissolved.
Figure 3: Steps to get your crystals
Suction Filtration
Suction filtration (also called vacuum filtration) is a technique used to separate liquids from
solids.
In this technique, an aspirator sucks out the air that is contained in the flask where the
Büchner funnel with a filter is placed. This causes a difference in pressure, so when the
mixture is placed in the funnel, it is forced to go through the filter. After the filtration, the
solid stays on the filter, while the liquid goes through and accumulates at the Büchner flask.
Suction filtration focuses on the recovery of the solid since the flow of air created by the
aspirator will be much drier than with a simple gravity filtration. By drying the solid much
more, we make sure that most of the weight in the filter is indeed due to the solid and not
to the solvent.
To do a suction filtration we need to:
1. Tare a filter paper on a glass watch. By doing this before and after the filtration we
will be able to estimate the weight of the solid that was in our mixture
2. Assemble the suction filtration equipment and activate the pump to make the air
start flowing
3. Place the pre-weighed filter in the Büchner funnel and filter the solution
4. Once the solution is filtered, leave it a bit longer in the funnel to dry out
5. Weight your pre-weighed filter with the solid in the scale that you previously tared to
obtain the weight of your crystals
At the end of the process, we will be able to estimate the recovery efficiency by simply
calculating the percentage of the original solid that we have recovered.
Recovery efficiency = (Final weight - Initial weight) / Initial weight
Figure 4: Suction filtration protocol
Melting Point Range
The melting point range is the span of temperature from the point when the solid starts
melting to the point at which the entire solid is in a liquid state.
This technique can be used to determine the purity of a solid. If the melting point range of a
pure solid is known, we can estimate the purity of our impure solid as the difference in the
melting point compared to the pure solid. An impure solid melts over a wide range of
temperatures and at a temperature lower than that of the pure solid. The closer the melting
point range of the impure solid gets to the melting point of the pure solid, the fewer
impurities it will contain.
To perform a melting point range in a solid we should follow the following steps:
1. Grind your crystals until you have a fine powder
2. Tap a capillary tube on top of your sample to load it and then tap it against the
workbench to make it go to the other end
3. Insert the melting capillary tube in the melting point apparatus and turn it on
4. Determine the temperature at which the solid starts melting
5. Determine the temperature at which the solid is completely melted
If at the end of the protocol, the melting point range of the impure solid is below the melting
point of the pure solid, it means that we still have impurities in our solid
Figure 5: Melting Point Range protocol.