Chem 9
Chem 9
Chem 9
Experiment No. 9
Acyl Compounds: Soap and Detergents
I.
Solubility Behavior
Acetic Acid
soluble
red
Benzoic Acid
insoluble
red
Sodium Benzoate
soluble
blue
Acetic acid and sodium benzoate were both soluble in water while the benzoic acid was
not. Carboxylic acids form new carbonyl compound when water is added to it by nucleuphilic
acyl substitution. C=O bond in benzoic acid is electron-rich which made it unready to react with
the nucleophile, water. In acetic acid and sodium benzoate, their C=O bond is electron-poor
making it ready to react with the nucleuphile, water.
Solubility in
10% NaOH
10% NaHCO3
Benzoic Acid
Soluble
Soluble
Phenol
Soluble
Insoluble
Carboxylic acids are soluble in dilute solutions of both strong acid and strong base.
Benzoic acid is a carboxylic organic acid compound, thus, it is soluble in 10% NaOH and 10%
NaHCO3. On the othetr hand, phenols are soluble in dilute solutions of strong base but insoluble
in dilute solution of 10% NaHCO3.
After heating
Acetyl Chloride
No change
red
Acetic Anhydride
Clear, homogeneous
No change
red
Benzamide
insoluble
red
Acetyl chloride reacts with water to yield carboxylic acid by substituting the -Cl with
-OH. Acid anhydride reacts with water forming two acids. Reaction of benzamide and water
requires heat to yield acid and amine. Acetyl chloride, acetic anhydride and benzamide are
acidic. Ethyl benzoate is basic.
Comparison of Soap and Detergent
Sample
Hydrolysis
Reaction
with HCl
Reaction with
Soft H2O
Hard H2O
Red Litmus
Paper to:
Blue litmus
Paper to
Soap
blue
blue
Cloudy
liquid
Clear liquid
with bubbles
Detergent
blue
blue
Clear liquid
Clear liquid
with bubbles
Soap and detergents are alkaline solutions thus it will give a blue color to a litmus paper.
Soap solutions are found to have a turbid solution while detergents have a clear solution in HCl.
Soap in soft water resulted to a clear liquid since it is an effective cleanser on soft water. Soap
in hard water has a cloudy liquid since it is an ineffective cleanser in hard water. On the other
hand, detergent is an effective cleanser in both soft and hard water, as a result, clear liquid is
observed in detergent in both soft and hard water.
Emulsifying Reaction
Sample
Observations
Soap
Detergent
Two distinct layers, white liquid on the upper part slightly cloudy
liquid on lower part and bubblew formed
Water
No emulsification
Detergent has more emulsification than soap while water has none.
4. Is the soap water mixture a true solution? Cite examples to support your answer.
The soap water mixture is not a true solution but a colloidal mixture. The soap water
mixture is a cloudy mixture where one substance is evenly dispersed throughout one another.
With this, some colloids are mistaken to be true solutions due to their similar appearances.
5. What is a colloidal mixture? How does a colloidal mixture arise when soap is mixed with
water?
A colloidal mixture is a mixture that has two subsatnces equally or evenly dispersed
with each other. A colloidal mixture has an outer layer with the same charges causing them to
repel each other resulting to lesser aggregation to form particles that are large enough to
precipitate.
The non-polar hydrocarbon tail of the soap dissolves into the oil, a non-polar
hydrocarbon, forming spherical cluster called micelles. Micelles' negatively charged surfaces
are where droplets of oil are solubilized in water where they become coated by the hydrophobic
non-polar tails of soap molecules. As a result, a colloidal misture of soap-water mixture arise.
6. On the basis of the litmus test, are the soap-water and detergent-water mixtures acidic, basic
or neutral? Explain the difference, if any of the reactions of the soap-water and detergent-water
mixtures to litmus paper.
Reaction of both soap-water and detergent-water mixtures to litmus paper shows their
alkalinity. Soaps tend to be alkaline after they undergo hydrolysis reaction upon hydration.
Detergent-water mistures are also alkaline in a lesser degree.
7. Which would you predict to have a greater emulsifying power in hard water, soaps or
synthetic detergent. Explain.
Synthetic detergents have a greater emulsifying power in hard water'' because it does
not form precipitates when introduced with the calcium and magnesium ions. This is due to the
presence of sulfonate group in detergents, which cannot be found in soaps.
8. Explain the cleaning property of soaps and detergents based on your observations of their
emulsifying action.
The soaps' and detergents' ability to emulsify or disperse water-insoluble compounds
and hold them in suspension with water is a result of their cleaning action. When a soap or
detergent is added to water that contains water-insoluble compounds, the soap or detergent
molecules sorround the water-insoluble compounds. The water-insoluble compounds are then
dissolved in the alkyl groups of the soap or detergent molecules while their ionic end allows the
micelle to dissolve in water.
IV. Conclusion
The group compared the acidities of carboxylic acids and phenols and found out that
carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenols, this is due to the relative stabilities of
carboxylate anions and alkoxide anions. The group also prepared soap and learned that
preparation of such is by saponification of fats. The group also campared the properties of soap
and detergents and found out that detergents compared to soap are more effective in hard
water.