Grignard Reaction Essay

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The objective of this experiment was to produce a compound that had additional carbons in its structure. The Grignard reaction is one such reaction where additional carbons can be added to molecules. In this lab, benzophenone and bromobenzene were used to synthesize triphenylmethanol by means of a Grignard reaction. A reflux reaction was undertaken to produce the Grignard reagent. Recrystallization was then used to get a product free from contamination. IR peaks were at ???? cm- and ???? cm-. The product had a melting point at ????-???? °C. The percent yield was ??? %. Mechanism The objective of this experiment was to produce triphenylmethanol using benzophenone and bromobenzene. The first step involved a Grignard reaction where magnesium was added to bromobenzene in the presence of ether to produce phenylmagnesium bromide (the Grignard reagent). This was then added to benzophenone where it reacted with the electrophilic carbonyl …show more content…

The low yield could be attributed to the multiple intermediate steps which could have contributed to some of the loss of the product. Also, in spite of taking all precautions possible, some procedures may have not been conducted as precisely as needed. In addition, there may be some problems associated with the lapse of time between the preparation of the Grignard reagent and the second reaction where triphenylmethanol is produced. It is desirable to conduct both the reactions on the same day. Furthermore, a major cause of the low yield could be the moisture present in the air, because water acts as an acid. Even acid from a finger-print could have adversely impacted the process. Even though the equipment was subjected to flame drying, some moisture could have been left in the equipment causing the low yield. Contaminants in the process could also have potentially caused a lower

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