Home > Community > What is the best solvent for recrystallization?
Upvote

15

Downvote
+ Solvents
+ Recrystallization
+ Chemistry
Posted by
Kasturi Khatun

What is the best solvent for recrystallization?

Daniel Strickland  Follow

It depends on what you want to re-crystallize. It is neccassary for the solute for crystallization to be soluable in the solvent you want to should use.

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
Bennison Denny Overton  Follow

For organic solutes, usually the best solvent is ethyl alcohol. Why? Well, clearly, ethyl alcohol has polar and non-polar functionality, the hydroxyl tail, and the hydrocarbyl chain. Organic solutes TEND to have some solubility in the HOT alcohol, and on cooling the solute crystallizes out… As a bonus, ethyl alcohol is cheap, smells nice, and is not too hard on your hands (tho it does sting on cuts!). The ethyl alcohol we use in the lab is often so-called [math]ext{industrial methylated spirit}[/math], i.e. ethyl alcohol with a BIT of methyl alcohol added, so that you can’t drink it ….

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote