RogerZu - 3-6-2018 at 18:12
Hello all,
I want some phenol in order to make my own phenolphthalein(I know it's cheaper just to buy but I want to make it).
I was going to use DCM from paint thinner and phenol. The problem is I don't think my setup could make phenol from salicylic acid but idk for sure. Is
there any other sources for phenol that a beginner amateur chemist could take advantage of?
Thanks in advance!
[Edited on 4-6-2018 by RogerZu]
j_sum1 - 3-6-2018 at 19:21
The two most common sources are salicylic acid and plasticisers found in vinyl gloves.
IIRC either Doug's Lab or UC235 or both have YT videos on phenol from SA.
There are also videos from others on extraction from gloves. (NileRed perhaps?)
There are some other methods but I believe they are less accessible.
You could do a search here and see what comes up:
"phenol source site: www.sciencemadness.org" entered into Google should do the trick.
Texium - 4-6-2018 at 12:10
Sure you aren't getting mixed up with phthalic acid from gloves? Still useful though, being as it's the other necessary component of phenolphthalein.