Daniel Bolanos

Block 5
November 15, 2013
Recrystallization Lab
(Rock Candy)

Introduction:
Recrystallization is a process in which crystals are formed from the precipitation of a
solution or by melting which its main purpose is to remove impurities from a solution. This
process can either be artificial or natural. The formation of stalactites and stalagmites, for
example, is recrystallization in its natural form. On the other hand, there can also be artificial
recrystallization; an example of this is the creation of rock candy. For artificial recrystallization
to happen there must be a supersaturated solution, meaning the amount of solute is greater than
the amount of solvent.
Recrystallization is a process which is also referred as a liquid-solid separation and
purification technique. Finally its important to mention that recrystallization is a process which
has had a significant role in the pharmaceutical area, due to the fact that it is and easy way to
reconstruct and modify medicine.
Materials:
1000 mL beaker
2600 mL beaker
750 mL Sugar
280 mL water
Hotplate
Colorant (few drops)
Pipe cleaner
Wooden skewer
Tape
Marker
Procedure:
Mix 750 mL of sugar in a 250 mL solution of water
Prepare de hotplate
Boil the solution of water and sugar
Stir gently so that all the sugar is dissolved
Add a few drops of the colorant chosen
Divide the solution into two equal parts by pouring in different beakers
Wrap pipe cleaner around a wooden skewer until it hangs 2-3 cm from the bottom of the
beaker
Hang the wooden skewer in the beaker
Mark the beaker with your name and set it into the fume hood
Each day of the experiment check whether crystals are forming around the pipe cleaner
Crystals may also start to form in the surface of the solution, the walls of the beaker
and/or in the bottom of the beaker. Remove all the crystals that are forming in these
areas.
If there is an excess of crystal formation in the beaker and not in the pipe cleaner reheat
the solution after taking the pipe cleaner out and setting it aside. Proceed this way every
day there is crystal formation in the beaker.
After reheating the solution add 30 mL of water.
Take care of the solution and crystal formation for the days left.
The last day take the pipe cleaner out of the beaker and let it dry.

Results:

Boiling supersaturated After it became transparent After 2 days of experiment small
solution of sugar. And colorant was added. Crystals started to grow at the top.


Day 3: crystals on the surface After 4 days larger crystals were Final result of one of the
of the solution, decided forming, 30 mL of water added experiments that didnt
to reheat the solution. to the solution work.

My final results after exactly 8 days of experiments. Large crystals can
can be seen on the upper part of the pip ecleaner.
# of trials: 1
Analysis:
In the pictures we can see how the crystal formation evolved through out the week. Even
though everyone started the same way there were slight changes in each experiment. As we can
see in the sixth picture, which is the final result of one of the classmates, there were no crystal
growth in the pipe cleaner. There are several events that could have affected the growth of
crystals in the pipecleaner, like misscleaning the beaker, not removing all of the crystals floating
in the solution or the addition of extra water to the supersaturated solution. On the other hand in
pictures seven and eight, which are the results from my experiment, we can see that there was
crystal growth.
Conclusions:
The main objective of this experiment was to understand the process of recrystallization
and its main purpose. With the help of a supersaturated solution we were able to construct
crystals around a pipecleaner which didnt contain the impurities that the liquid state of the
solution contained. After the experiment I can say that my results did match my expectations and
that it was very interesting to analyze how small details could affect the final result of crystal
formation. Additionally I would like to mention that even though you follow the instructions
exactly as they say you may get different results due to factors that occur during the week of
experiment.
As it comes to compare the results collected at the end of the experiment I am proud to
say that my results were the best of the class. I can support this statement because the crystals
formed around the pipe cleaner I used were the larger and better shaped compared to the crystals
from my classmates. On the other hand the experiment that ended up being the worst belonged to
Kevin Moreno. He didnt have any crystals around the pipe cleaner. Our experiments were very
similar but there was one factor that affected completely his results. On the third day of
experiment we both reheated the solution because there were too many small crystals floating
around, afterwards we added water to it because there was a large quantity of water that
evaporated due to the reheating, creating an over supersaturated solution. The slight change that
may have shaped the final results was the amount of water added in each of the experiments.
Kevin decided to add 50 mL of water while I added just 30 mL.
Due to the fact that the amount of water was a variable in each experiment I can conclude
that the amount of water is a very important factor in this experiment because the solution must
be oversaturated for recrystallization to happen.
I would recommend this experiment for future students because one is able to see how
this process works and it would be certainly be useful for future labs. If I was to do this
experiment gain I will recommend the addition of an artificial flavor so that the result tastes as it
and students are encouraged and look forward to see their final results. Finally I would like to
say that I am looking forward to the creation of aspirin in which we will apply the knowledge
gained in this experiment.
Works Cited
Rganic chemistry at uc boulder. (2013, august 13). Retrieved november 14, 2013, from crystallization:
http://orgchem.colorado.edu/Technique/Procedures/Crystallization/Crystallization.html