A report on the oxidation: Cyclohexanol to cyclohexanone; cyclohexanone to adipic acid

• Main Author: Jose, Judy Fe F.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2007
• Subjects: Cyclohexanones—Oxidation; Oxidation; Chemistry
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/7132
• Institution: De La Salle University

Oxidation is the loss of electrons, gain of oxygen or loss of hydrogens. In this experiment, cyclohexanone was synthesized by oxidation of cyclohexanol using sodium hypochlorite (household bleach) as the oxidizing agent. The cyclohexanone produced was separated from the reaction mixture through steam distillation. The organic product was then salted out from the water solution and extracted with ether. The ether was then removed by distillation, leaving cyclohexanone as residue. The % yield was 51.6%. Reagent-grade cyclohexanone was used to synthesize adipic acid. Cyclohexanone was added very slowly to concentrated nitric acid since the reaction is very exothermic. Once the reaction was complete, the product was allowed to crystallize and the solvent was removed. The adipic acid crystals were then washed with a small amount of cold water, freeze-dried and weighed. The % yield was 41.0%. Thin-layer chromatography, infrared spectroscopy and melting point were used to characterize the product.