Methodology

The Microwave set-up I had access to was the Mars System, which has a power capacity of 1600 Watts, with three possible power settings. I had used the secod setting with the power input of 960 Watts. This is the most important piece of apparatus used in this experiment, as it replaces the catalyst and essentially gets the reaction going. 

When working on my methodology, I looked at the “A Greener Approach to Aspirin Synthesis Using Microwave Irradiation” procedure. I had adjust some aspects, including the reaction time, equipment used, and amounts of recatants; however, the general steps were followed. To find the optimal reaction-time, I had used Thin Layer Chromotography to monitor the reaction, and have found that the reaction reached full conversion at ten minutes. Having this information allowed me to further adjust the methodology for my experiment, in which I conducted five trials for the microwave synthesis of aspirin. I had used 10 (±0.0001) grams of salicylic acid and 25 (±0.0001) millileters or 27 (±0.0001) grams of acetic anhydride. To further investigate Green Chemistry, the recrystilzation step was eliminated and replaced by washing the crude product with 25 mL of cold water ( removing the excess acetic anhydride), isolating the product using a vacuum filter, and finally drying it for 30 minutes at 100℃ in an oven.