Sciencemadness Discussion Board

multiple solvent recrystallization

Brominerain - 23-6-2022 at 04:24

I know how conventional recrystallization works. (dissolving a substance in hot solvent and then cooling the solution slowly to lower the solubility to form crystals)(correct me if needed).
However, I am curious to know how multiple solvent recrystallization works. Is it a viable technic of purification?

DraconicAcid - 23-6-2022 at 11:23

Yes, very much so.

In a mixed solvent recrystallization, you have a solvent (which dissolves the solute well) and an antisolvent (which doesn't). You can dissolve your substance in solvent, and then slowly add AS until your solute crystallizes out. Ifg you want really nice crystals, you can put a small beaker of solute dissolved in S into a jar of a volatile AS, so that AS vapour slowly diffuses into the solution.

You can also suspend your solid in hot AS, add just enough S to dissolve your solute, and then cool slowly.

Herr Haber - 23-6-2022 at 12:20

Good video on the subject:
https://youtu.be/VwzwYahkJEs

Mateo_swe - 15-7-2022 at 13:09

In ordinary crystallization you dissolve a substance in a minimal amount of hot solvent so it just dissolves the substance and then cooling the solution slowly to lower the solubility to form crystals. The slower the temperature drops, the nicer and larger crystals are formed.
Putting it in your dedicated chemistry refrigerator to cool down usually works if you don't need very large nice crystals.
Sometimes scratching the inside of the beaker with a glass rod or using a seed crystal is needed to initiate the crystallization.
Using a minimal of solvent that are able to dissolve the compound is good, its not always that important but some compounds are harder to get to crystallize so its a good way to get better results.