Naphtalene Experiment 8

Objectives

At the end of this experiment, the student should be able to:

1. Use and investigate the efficiency of sublimation as a method of purification; and

2. Compute percent recovery

Results and Inferences

The recovered amount of naphthalene is quite high, but some amount of pure naphthalene was stuck
on the spatula or fell off to the ground, so the mass of pure naphthalene collected was a little bit
inaccurate. Even with the mistakes, the data is still credible with the help of literature cited information.

Post-Laboratory Questions

1. Advantages
a. Fast - because you turn a solid into a gas and condense it immediately.
b. Clean - whatever you sublime, you get back the same purity.
Disadvantages
a. Recovery may not be complete - the fumes may be blown away.
b. Non-sublimable agent may decompose under heat.

2. Sublimation in freeze-drying

In a vacuum, ice “sublimates” directly from solid to vapor at room temperature without melting. This
process is hugely beneficial in freeze-drying because it allows frozen foods to be dried directly by
vaporizing all water without ever having the water melt.

Dye sublimation is a printing process using a specially designed ribbon that holds solid inks. The printer
heats the ink, causing it to sublimate – which means it skips the liquid form and transitions directly into
a gaseous state.

3. It's because at room temperature and normal pressure (atmospheric pressure), carbon dioxide is
usually a gas. So when you take dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and expose it to this temperature and
pressure, it will try to return to the gas phase.