Dr. Lawrence Kennard (pictured in white shirt) , Chemistry Student Faculty Mentor
Walters State Community College

Titles and Abstracts of Chemistry Posters (see left for individual photos)

DEMONSTRATION OF A KARL FISCHER TITRATION.   Kelly Ailey , Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .   An Aquametry I apparatus, a coulometric device produced by Labindustries, was used to determine the percentage of water in student prepared cyclohexene.

THE FISCHER ESTERIFICATION WITH A DEAN-STARK TRAP.   Joshua A. Arrington.   Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee.   The Fischer esterification with a Dean-Stark trap demonstrates the production of an ester.   This reaction is an acid-catalyzed process involving an alcohol and a carboxylic acid.   The process is an application of the LeChatelier principle.   This demonstrates that if one component of a mixture at dynamic equilibrium is removed, the reaction will tend to shift in that direction.   The water, which is produced from the reaction, “settles out” and fills the side-arm adapter of the Dean-Stark trap.   As the reaction progresses at reflux, a higher yield of ester is synthesized.  

LOW PRESSURE CATALYTIC HYDROGENATION.   Laura Brudecki .   Walters State

Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .   A system for low pressure catalytic hydrogenation was demonstrated.   A side-arm flask was used to hydrogenate endo -norbornene- cis -5,6-dicarboxylic acid over palladium on carbon.

DEMONSTRATION OF A MORTON FLASK WITH A MECHANICAL STIRRER.   Jennifer Butler .   Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .   A Morton flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer was used to demonstrate efficient agitation of a multiphase system.

DEMONSTRATION OF A SOXHLET EXTRACTION APPARATUS.   Matthew R. Craven. Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee.   Diacetone alcohol, 4-hydroxy-4-methyl-2-pentanone, was made by refluxing acetone over calcium hydroxide in a Soxhlet extraction apparatus.   Equilibrium strongly favors the reactants over the products. However, using a Soxhlet extractor allows one to take advantage of Le Chatelier's principle to produce a small amount of product on each pass through the thimble.

DEMONSTRATION OF HPTLC.  Jenny Dalton.   Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee.   Circular, radial, and linear types of normal phase high performance thin layer chromatography were demonstrated using a development system from Analtech.

DEMONSTRATION OF ACE PHOTOCHEMICAL EQUIPMENT.   Barbara Johnson.   Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee.   Photochemical synthesis of benzopinacol was demonstrated by photolysis of benzophenone in 2-propanol.   The rate of reaction was compared with rates from photolysis experiments using solar irradiation.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE ABBE REFRACTOMETER.   Tyler Jones. Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee.   Use of the Abbe Refractometer was demonstrated.   The Abbe Refractometer measures the extent light is bent as it passes through a liquid.   The Abbe Refractometer can help identify or confirm the identity of a substance, and can help determine the purity of a substance by comparing the refractive index to standards.

DEMONSTRATION OF PRODUCT DRYING WITH A CHEM-DRY INSTRUMENT.

Amanda Keener , Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .    The Chem-Dry apparatus from Laboratory Devices is used to quick dry a small laboratory sample in a set-up much simpler to use than the Abderhalden apparatus.   The sample, under vacuum, is heated by adjusting the voltage to an oven which contains the sample chamber. At reduced pressure the sample is quickly dried.

DEMONSTRATION OF PRODUCT DRYING WITH AN ABDERHALDEN APPARATUS.

Jamie-Lee B. Marques , Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .    The Abderhalden apparatus is used to quick dry a small laboratory sample.   The sample, under vacuum, is heated by refluxing a solvent over a chamber holding the sample. At reduced pressure the sample is quickly dried.

CONTINUOUS LIQUID-LIQUID EXTRACTION WITH HEAVIER THAN WATER SOLVENTS.   Ryan Sutton .   Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee .

The process of extraction is based on the relative solubility of a solid in two immiscible liquids.   Solubility is the chemical property that defines the maximum mass of a solid that will dissolve in a particular solvent.   Two immiscible solvents will form two phases; the phase that has the greater density will appear at the bottom.   This is the solvent that has a density greater than water.   NoDoz will be the free agent which contains caffeine.   Dichloromethane is used as the extracting solvent, because it is immiscible in water, and has a greater solubility for caffeine.      

DEMONSTRATION OF LARGE SCALE FRACTIONAL DISTILLATION.   Zachary A. Taylor . Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee. Using a large-scale fractional distillation apparatus, two organic solvents, which have boiling points within 25 degrees of one another, were separated.   The two organic solvents chosen for the demonstration are methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), which has a boiling point of 117.4 C, and toluene, which has a boiling point of 109.6-111.6 C.

DEMONSTRATION OF SOLID PHASE EXTRACTION.   Steven Michael Watson Jr.   Walters State Community College, Morristown Tennessee .   Solid phase extraction is a method that uses a solid phase and a liquid phase to isolate one compound in a solution.   This is the preferred extraction method because it is inexpensive and yields accurate results.   It is also typically easier and faster than others due to its small sample size.

SHORT PATH VACUUM DISTILLATION FOR DEET. Craig W. Wojciechowski.    Walters State Community College, Morristown, Tennessee. The purification of N,N-diethyl- meta -toluamide, DEET, was demonstrated by conducting a short path vacuum distillation.   Experimental parameters were presented.