JnPS
Hazard to Self
Posts: 90
Registered: 29-7-2016
Location: PA, USA
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Mood: Umpolung
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Cinnamaldehyde Decomposition?
I ended up spending all of today on just one project due to equipment failures and whatnot, and then at the end of it, there seems to be no
product....
I intended to follow Nile Red's video on steam distilling cinnamaldehyde:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDoaPIKT_Xg
I only made a few differences in the procedure:
1) I didn't use an addition funnel to add another 100mL of water after the first 100mL of distillate was collected.
2) I didn't dry the organic layer with saturated salt solution, but I did dry it with CaCl2 until the layer was clear.
3) I distilled off the DCM using a heating mantle not a hot water bath, but kept it on low to medium heat.
At the end I wasn't left with an oil but some crusty off-white solid stuck to the bottom of the flask, it smelled of cinnamon but also had a slight
rose/floral hint to it. Any ideas as to what happened?
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UC235
National Hazard
Posts: 565
Registered: 28-12-2014
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Cinnamic acid with traces of cinnamate esters and cinnamaldehyde. Cinnamic acid is highly sensitive to air oxidation and working in large volumes of
solvent is a great way to end up with it oxidized. Possibly your cinnamon was already old and oxidized as well.
Edit: I should point out that what is being used in the video is cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) bark, sold in the US as cinnamon. It's essential
oil is 80+% cinnamaldehyde. True or Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) comes in larger sticks and has a layered fibrous look to it. That
essential oil is only about 50% cinnamaldehyde with a considerable amount of eugenol and a lot of other minor components).
[Edited on 11-1-2017 by UC235]
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