Extended Essays 2021

Investigating the Effect of Reflux Time on the Concentration of Synthesized Methyl Salicylate, Determined Using the Ferric Chloride Spectroscopy Calibration Curve

Research Question For the synthesis of methyl salicylate with controlled concentrations of salicylic acid (0.2mol),

methanol (2.1mol) and conc. sulfuric acid (~18mol), how does increasing the duration of reflux

in the procedure from one to five hours in one-hour intervals, affect the yield & percentage

concentration of methyl salicylate in the synthesised solutions, as determined using the ferric

chloride calibration curve from a UV spectrophotometer?

Word Count: 3,991 By: Leigh AMORES