Undergraduate Experiment: Synthesis of Aspirin

Incorporation of NMR spectroscopy into an undergraduate lab provides an excellent method with which to provide students with practical experiments by acquiring their own data and interpreting actual NMR spectra.

Nanalysis has been preparing a series of undergrad sample experiments, highlighting ideas for easily incorporating NMR spectroscopy into the undergraduate lab.

We wanted to highlight that the additional time commitment is minimal. The preparation (5 x ~1 min) and data collection (5 x ~1min) of the reactants and products is minimal. Three of the samples (salicylic acid, acetic anhydride and acetic acid) can be prepared and the data measured during experimental time (reaction or recrystallization). This should limit bottle necking around the spectrometer and sufficient time to allow all the students to collect the necessary data.