Newton2.0 - 18-9-2021 at 16:06
I was synthesizing EtBr using a common method and found that there was a considerable amount of residual clear, crystalline solid in
my boiling flask after the reaction completed.
Now, I assume that the majority of the solid will be a mixture of sodium ethyl sulfate and unreacted sodium bromide.
The reaction was, unfortunately, very low yielding and I am wondering if some conditions favored the formation of sodium ethyl
sulfate and did not allow for the sodium bromide to react.
Can anyone else comment on the byproducts of this reaction?
Triflic Acid - 18-9-2021 at 19:17
What order did you mix the reactants in?
BromicAcid - 18-9-2021 at 20:26
Please supply more details of your reaction. I.e., reference, balanced reaction scheme, writeup including temps, reagent amounts, procedure, etc.
Amos - 19-9-2021 at 10:16
In any of the reaction conditions I'm familiar with, sodium ethyl sulfate and ethyl bromide are both products of an equilibrium with the reactants and
should thus be able to inverconvert. Because ethyl bromide is the more volatile product, it should be able to be distilled out, reacting away sodium
ethyl sulfate; there shouldn't be any "dead end" caused by the formation of it as you've hypothesized. While I havent actually seen your procedure
yet, I think it's more likely that the reactants weren't given enough time to react, distillation was stopped too early, or too much water/not enough
sulfuric acid were present.
UC235 - 19-9-2021 at 14:09
Not enough water is also a significant problem with this synthesis. 80 proof vodka works well as a source of ethanol. Yield should be 80-90% easily
unless you didn't have enough cooling to condense the product.