Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Getting Started?

DFliyerz - 27-12-2014 at 12:21

I've been mainly working in inorganic chemistry, but lately organic chemistry has been of some interest to me. This may be the wrong subforum, but what are some basic reactions that I could do with household materials to get started with organic chemistry>

bismuthate - 27-12-2014 at 12:33

I'm the least qualified person to answer here, but you could try making oil of wintergreen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTLnNWQhSMI

CHRIS25 - 27-12-2014 at 13:29

as far as Home ingredients go I suppose extracting oleic acid from olive oil via soap. This is a mixture of inorganic and organic, the oleic acid being the organic part. Just a suggestion.

HgDinis25 - 27-12-2014 at 13:38

Well, you could go on a hunt to get a lot of Organic reagents. This way you could practise some seperation methods. You could get Acetone from nail polish remover, Toluene from paint thinner, Ethanol from vodka (or other sources), and a lot more.

Check youtube channels that aproach this subject. Many can give you awsome ideas. Some examples:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFhXFikryT4aFcLkLw2LBLA
https://www.youtube.com/user/UC235?feature=watch
https://www.youtube.com/user/Hegelrast/videos

And remember to read and study Organic Chemistry. Seriously, the more you learn the better.

subsecret - 27-12-2014 at 13:40

Here are some other ideas:

Chlorobutanol, benzocaine, and hydrolysis of ethyl acetate are some that come to mind. All of these can be found easily online.

Also, while purification of your reagents (organic solvents, etc) doesn't necessarily explore chemistry (as making new molecules), it does allow you to get used to working with your glassware. It may sound simple to "remove the solid product from the RBF," but often times, things are easier said than done. It's better to make mistakes with an OTC material than with a product that you have a limited amount of.

This might be more relevant: Check the SM library for Vogel's Practical Organic Chemistry. It's highly recommended, and you can find experiments that you can do with your reagents. You'll still need to buy some materials, but it's usually better to have more than less in terms of reagents.

Best of luck, and ventilate your work area well!

PS: What sort of glassware do you have? A basic distillation set is handy.

[Edited on 27-12-2014 by Awesomeness]

DFliyerz - 27-12-2014 at 15:38

Quote: Originally posted by Awesomeness  
Here are some other ideas:

Chlorobutanol, benzocaine, and hydrolysis of ethyl acetate are some that come to mind. All of these can be found easily online.

Also, while purification of your reagents (organic solvents, etc) doesn't necessarily explore chemistry (as making new molecules), it does allow you to get used to working with your glassware. It may sound simple to "remove the solid product from the RBF," but often times, things are easier said than done. It's better to make mistakes with an OTC material than with a product that you have a limited amount of.

This might be more relevant: Check the SM library for Vogel's Practical Organic Chemistry. It's highly recommended, and you can find experiments that you can do with your reagents. You'll still need to buy some materials, but it's usually better to have more than less in terms of reagents.

Best of luck, and ventilate your work area well!

PS: What sort of glassware do you have? A basic distillation set is handy.

[Edited on 27-12-2014 by Awesomeness]


Currently just a few beakers, since I've mainly been working with solids. I'm hoping to get some new equipment soon, though!

diddi - 27-12-2014 at 15:46

a lot of organic chem requires reflux conditions. I would save up and visit one of the chinese glassware suppliers discussed on SM and pick up an organic chem kit. you can then do distillation and solvent extraction and reflux. I think you will find orgchem really rewarding if you have a bit of glassware, rather than trying and being put off working in buckets, I mean beakers.

great suggestion to find a few solvents. there are quite a few OTC in hardware stores. and also you will need to find some good airtight sample tubes to store your products (cheap china again-few cents each). often they are volatile or decompose readily.