Question

During the experiment, what happened to the other enantiomer of phenylsuccinic acid? How could you isolate (R) phenylsuccnic acid. Write out a clear, detailed experimental procedure to isolate the (R) enantiomer from today's experiment (using (R)-proline is not an option!)  

Answer 1

Other enantiomer i.e. (R)-(-)-phenylsuccinic acid, is dissolved in solvent. This solvent is evaporated at the rotary evaporator. Solid material is obtained which is enriched with (R)-(-)-enantiomer. Add 15 mL of cold 6M HCl to the solid residue in the recovery flask. Scrape down the sides of the recovery flask, and stir the reaction mixture for 10-15 minutes. Filter the solid product using vacuum. Rinse the recovery flask with 15 mL of cold water and filter to recover the remaining solid. Wash the solid residue on the filter paper with 15 mL of cold water. Dry the solid for 10-15 minutes. This solid is enriched (R)-(-)-phenylsuccinic acid.