Question

how do i design a synthesis reaction lab?

Answer 1

@Australopithecus @Abmon98 @superhelp101

Answer 2

Depends on what you are synthesizing, your starting material, the synthetic pathway you are following.

Answer 3

If you just want a general synthesis laboratory I cant give you a list of things you would likely need if you wanted to do a wide range of reactions

Answer 4

I need to design a lab where I can show how excess chlorine reacts with tetraphosphorus to create PCl5 in this reaction:
P4 + 10Cl2 -> 4PCl5

Answer 5

What are your starting materials?

Answer 6

I have to design it all from scratch. I can use whatever materials I'd like.

Answer 7

@Abmon98

Answer 8

So you are trying to achieve phosphorus pentachloride,

P4 + 6Cl2 → PCl5

So essentially this reaction.

P4(s) + 6Cl2(g) → 4PCl3(l)
PCl3(l) + Cl2(g) → PCl5(s)

Answer 9

Oops,

P4(s) + 6Cl2(g) → 4PCl3(l)
4PCl3(l) + Cl2(g) → PCl5(s)

Answer 10

but I need to design a lab that could be performed to verify each synthesis reaction including my initial masses, my hypothesis, and possible problems. And then I need to explain how my experiment would confirm the conservation of matter for each reaction.

Answer 11

Well you need to know what reaction you are conduction to even start.

Answer 12

2 reactions. One excess chlorine and one limiting chlorine.
P4 + 6Cl2 -> 4PCl3
and
P4 + 10Cl2 -> 4PCl5

Answer 13

one lab for each

Answer 14

Do you have scientific literature or is this a highschool class? I mean you can just devise a method yourself I suppose but it will require math.

Answer 15

seems like a pretty simple reaction, essentially you would reflux white phosphorous and bubble chlorine gas through it

Answer 16

Just a high school class haha

Answer 17

I already kind of have an idea of how to do this reaction, so essentially you need to look up msds of white phosphorous and find an inert solvent to dissolve it in.

Essentially you would want to do this reaction under inert atmosphere as water reactions with PCl5, and there is water in our atmosphere

Answer 18

so add the two in water?

Answer 19

Read.

Answer 20

I dont know what an inert solvent is and I don't know what you mean by an inert atmosphere

Answer 21

Water reacts with both your desired product and your intermediary producing an unwanted side product

Answer 22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqLlmXmMiFQ

Answer 23

Inert atmosphere is one that is not reactive

Answer 24

So N2 or more nobel gases

Answer 25

it doesnt interfere with the reaction, since our atmosphere contains water it will react with your reactants and form biproducts resulting in a lower yield which is not desired

Answer 26

Essentially you cant use water as a solvent for your white phosphorous

Answer 27

you can just say you are using a tank of Cl2

Answer 28

I will draw out a diagram, you can just ignore the inert atmosphere part and just say there will be a reaction between water in the atmosphere and your reactants/intermediary (look up the reactions or figure them out yourself).

Answer 29

Ok here is a diagram of the set up you need.
i.imgur.com/nsihSNW.png


Key things to note,
-You would dissolve all of your white phosphorous in some solvent that is non reactive, check the MSDS for white phosphorous and thank the Canadian government. (You could just say a non-polar solvent).
-You should look up the colour of your product and reactant this can be used to indicate when your reaction is complete (Check MSDS or wikipedia)
-Perform this in a fume hood and probably explain why.
-You would want to use excess chlorine because it is in gas form.
-I assume you dont want to isolate your product since you just want to observe the reaction. So I wont get into that. You might see your product crash out of solution again check its solubility (msds sheet).

Not much more help I can give you, anways i have to go take care.

Answer 30

oops you wont want a rubber stopper at the top of the reflux aparatus you will want it on the other neck of the two neck round bottom flask

Answer 31

ok I'm done

Answer 32

Also give me a medal I have earned it :l spent like an hour on this.

Answer 33

hahaha thank you! And I get exactly what you're saying now but I feel like that'd be slightly advanced for my class haha

Answer 34

Oh and a side note the amount you use is abstract, just pick an arbitrary amount to dissolve it in. Yeah well I dont know how else you would synthesize what you are asking, it isnt really that advanced.

Answer 35

you can just glaze over the details doesnt matter, but just explain the glassware you will use and say you will use a non polar solvent and make a concentration of a certain molarity. then you will just bouble Cl2 from a pressurized tank into it while refluxing the solution. Not really that hard.

If you are confused about figuring out what the limiting reagent is just google limiting reagent in youtube.

Answer 36

Your hypothesis will just be the colour it changes to, and if there is a precipitate etc.

Answer 37

Look up the msds sheets for your product and reactant

Answer 38

it will tell you information about its solubility and colour

Answer 39

just use enough white phosphorous or something to make a 1M solution idk

Answer 40

@Australopithecus how would this confirm the conservation of matter?

Answer 41

It would confirm it by giving you close to the predicted amount of PCl5 produced from the P4 based on the reaction equation used, if you were to extract all the solvent from the reaction and assume that the reaction goes to completion. As this would make it clear that no new matter was created or lost. You would see either a loss because of transfer, and extraction process, and due to the fact that the reaction might not go to completion but still.

Also, if this was a closed system (which it is not), you could show that it remains the same mass even after the reaction has taken place.