The reaction was with 5mmol of Anthracene and 5mmol of Maleic Anhydride to generate the Diels-Alder product. Why was xylene the solvent of choice?
1 Answer
Apr 20, 2016
There are three reasons why xylene was the solvent of choice:
Explanation:
1. Xylene has a high boiling point (~140 °C).
Since the solution of reactants is so concentrated, the boiling point of the refluxing mixture may be closer to 180 °C. The higher the temperature, the faster the rate!
**2. ** The product is less soluble in xylene than the reactants are, so the adduct crystallizes from the solution on cooling.
3. The xylene (m.p. ~-50 °C) will not solidify when the reaction mixture is cooled in ice water.
Thus, you can easily filter off the solid adduct for later purification.
