Class Projects in Physical Organic Chemistry:The Hydrolysis of Aspirin

摘要

The hydrolysis of aspirin is studied in a third-year organic chemistry course (Chemistry 337,Bioorganic Chemistry)at the University of Victoria.The topic is studied in the lecture and laboratory as a means of understanding catalysis and how a change in pH can affect reaction rates and the mechanism of hydrolysis.The exercise presented provides a hands-on demonstration of the hydrolysis of aspirin.The students are able to see the correlation between their results obtained in the laboratory and the mechanisms discussed in-the lecture.This correlation leads to a greater understanding of the mechanisms of catalysis and the utility of the pH-rate profile for determining these mechanisms.