Transcript Slide 1
Experiment 16
Preparation of Diphenylmethanol
by Reduction of Benzophenone
Objectives
Gain experience in preparative
reduction of an organic compound
To use TLC to assess the purity of your
synthesized product
To gain experience in using mole
quantities in calculating % yield
Reactions of Alcohols
OH
O
O
ox
1o alcohols
R
H
red
ox
R
OH
H
O
2o alcohols
ox
R1
R
red
R
OH
3o alcohols
cannot be oxidised
R
2
R
R1
R1
red
R
OH
Oxidation of 1° Alcohols
One of the most valuable reactions
Can be accomplished by a large number of oxidizing
agents
Certain reagents oxidize too rapidly for the aldehyde
to be isolated
R
O
O
Na2CrO7
OH
R
H
R
OH
over-oxidation
O
PCC
R
oxidation as far as aldehyde only
OH
R
H
Reduction to Alcohols
Aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids can all be
reduced to give 1° and 2° alcohols
Carboxylic acids can be reduced using BH3/THF or
LiAlH3
Aldehydes and ketones by NaBH4 or LiAlH3
O
BH3/THF
R
R
OH
R
OH
OH
O
R
1
R
R1 = H or R
NaBH4
or
LiAlH3
Hydride Reagents
Act as a source of nucleophilic hydrogen
Carbonyl carbons are electrophilic
Readily attacked by hydride reagents
O
O
OH
H
Ph
Ph
benzophenone
H3O+
Ph
H
Ph
Ph
Ph
diphenylmethanol
Safety Notes
Sodium Borohydride – irrirtant,
corrosive, toxic and highly reactive with
water – gives off highly flammable gas
Dichloromethane is toxic
Benzophenone irritating to the eyes and
respiratory system
Experimental
Dissolve 0.4 g of benzophenone in 7ml of
ethanol
Dissolve 0.16 g of NaBH4 in 2ml of cold
water in a separate flask
Add the hydride solution dropwise to the
benzophenone solution
Allow to react at room temperature for 30
mins – shaking occasionally
Experimental
Pour the reaction mixture on to 15ml of
ice water and 1ml conc HCl – gas is
liberated
Allow to react for a few minutes then
isolate the white precipitate on a Hirsch
funnel – wash with cold water
Dry on the funnel for 15 mins
Leave to dry in your locker
Experimental
Check the purity of your product by TLC
Dissolve 10 mg of the crude product in a few
drops of dicloromethane
Spot this solution on to a TLC plate along
with a reference solution of benzophenone
Develop the plate in 10% ethyl
acetate/hexane
Visualise the plate by staining with iodine
TLC plate
Ideally, the spot from
your crude crystals
should not contain any
benzophenone
The reference spot of
starting material allows
for comparison
Based on the TLC make
a conclusion about the
purity of your product
Report
Calculate the % yield of alcohol product
Use numbers of moles of starting
material and product in calculations
Melting point of your product
Calculate Rf values of starting matereial
and product
Intro, discussion & question in manual