Durning the synthesis of Aspirin from Methyl salicylate we perfom a recrystallization. How do I relate the % yield of each compound to the efficacy of the recrystallization technique?
The instructions are listed below:
Rinse the crystals several times with small portions (2 mL) of ice-cold water and air dry the crystals on a Buchner funnel by suction until the crystals appear to be free of solvent. Record the weight of the crude solid which probably contains water.
To recrystallize: Dissolve the final product in a minimum amount (no more than 1 mL) of hot ethanol in a 25 mL Erlenmeyer flask. Make sure that the product is completely dissolved while gently and continuously heating on a steam bath.
Pour 5 ml of hot water into the flask, then let the flask cool at room temperature for 10 minutes and cool in an ice bath for an additional 5 minutes. Collect the product by vacuum filtration and rinse out of the flask with a few milliliters of cold water.