Experiment: Synthesis of an Ester
Week 8

As with last week's experiment, take extra care in making sure your glassware is DRY prior to conducting the reaction. Why is this important?

Referring to the proton (1H) NMR on p. 38 of the reader, note that the integration of the third group of signals (marked 3 underneath) is actually an integration of two separate peaks. Integration is often an automated process done by the NMR instrument. When the NMR cannot see two distinct peaks on the spectrum, it sometimes integrates the group as one peak. The sure-fire way of determining the correct peak-to-integration correlation is by measuring the height of the integration curve directly above each peak.

Operation of the Refractometer