Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Organic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: STM on February 17, 2015, 03:19:55 AM
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I recently synthesized methyl hydroperoxide (MHP) in an aqueous medium. I need to extract the MHP from the reaction mixture by extracting it into diethyl ether and back-extracting it into water. The procedures I saw just mentioned that the ether is boiled-off.
Please what do you understand by the term "boil-off"? Does it mean that I place the ether extract in a flask,add some water to it, immerse it in an electric water bath and heat to about 50 degrees Celsius in a fume cupboard and let the ether go away without necessarily recovering it by distillation? Please provide clarifications on what is meant by boiling-off the ether or on the procedure for back-extracting into water. I will appreciate any link that provides further information.
Thank you
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Boil off sound in your case more like blow up.
Just extract into water and use a separating funnel to remove the ether.
Be careful, do not isolate any solid material it may explode.
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@discodermolide: Thank you for your response. So there will be no need for any attempt to drive off the diethyl ether. I was wondering if the octanol:water partition coefficient of Methyl Hydroperoxide is low enough to make it prefer migration into the aqueous phase than staying in the organic phase. I was wondering if i wont be leaving behind a concentrated MHP in an ether layer. Please comment.
Thank you
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I have no idea of its aqueous solubility nor the partition coefficient. This information should be available, Google it.