Determining the Enthalpy of Vaporization of a Liquid

Chemistry 112 Laboratory Molecules in the liquid state are held near one another by intermolecular forces (IMFs). How strong are these forces? What aspects of molecular structure influence IMF strengths? This experiment probes these questions. In this experiment the vapor pressure of a liquid is measured over a range of temperatures. The data obtained are used to create a Clausius-Clapeyron plot from which the enthalpy of vaporization can be calculated. Different pairs of students will perform the experiment using different liquids. Data will be shared among the different groups so that different molecular structures can be compared. Vapor pressure of a liquid increases with increasing temperature because at a higher temperature a greater fraction of molecules have sufficient kinetic energy to break the intermolecular forces holding them to one another in the liquid state. The relationship between vapor pressure and temperature is described by the Clausius-Clapeyron equation.

This can be written in the form of a linear equation.

Therefore, if we have a set of data points for vapor pressure (P) at different temperatures (T), we can make a plot of ln P (that is, natural log of P) vs. the inverse temperature (1/T). This plot should be linear and the slope will be equal to Hvap/R. So,

Hvap = (slope of plot) x R

The task, then, is to collect the data, make the plot, get the slope, and calculate Hvap. We will measure Hvap for the following compounds and relate those values to their molecular structures. Methanol, CH3OH Ethanol: CH3CH2OH 2-Propanol: CH3CH(OH)CH3 Hexane: CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 Heptane: CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3

Experimental Temperature and Pressure data will be collected using either the MeasureNet or Vernier systems. Use of the MeasureNet system will be described here. The Vernier systems will be up and running. Turn on the MeasureNet Control Station (if its not on already), then: Main Menu F4- Pressure F1- Pressure and Temperature

Set up the apparatus pictured below with a 125-mL Erlenmeyer flask immersed in a 400 or 600-mL beaker of water, which rests on a hot plate. The flask must be completely dry on the inside; the syringe contains about 3 mL of the liquid being studied.

The procedure for adding the liquid to the flask differs for the MeasureNet and the Vernier Systems.

MeasureNet:

1. Turn the valve to the Initial position as shown above left. 2. Remove syringe from valve if connected and fill with 3 mL of liquid to be studied. 3. Reconnect syringe to valve. Make sure stopper is tight. 4. MEASURE INITIAL PRESSURE 5. Turn valve to adding position as shown above right. MAKE SURE THE POSITION OF THE VALVE IS CORRECT OR YOU WILL RUIN THE SENSOR!!!!!!!! Quickly press syringe in all the way and then retract it to the 3 mL mark. 6. Turn valve back to Initial position. 7. Start heating the water bath. Make sure the wires and tubes are not touching the hot plate! Record temperature and pressure values as the water bath heats. Take a reading every 3-4 degrees temperature change. Take readings until the pressure reaches above 1300 mm Hg or the temperature reaches 80 oC (whichever comes first). 8. When finished taking data, remove the flask from the water bath and remove the rubber stopper. Empty the small amount of liquid into the Organic Waste Container. Vernier System: 1. Detach syringe from rubber stopper by twisting the connector. Open the valve and add 3 mL of liquid to be studied. Close the valve. 2. Attach syringe to the rubber stopper assembly. Make sure the valve connected to the Pressure Meter is open. Make sure stopper is tight. 3. MEASURE INITIAL PRESSURE 4. Open valve connected to the syringe. Quickly depress the syringe plunger all the way and then retract it to the 3 mL mark. 5. Close the valve connected to the syringe (back to the original position). 6. Start heating the water bath. Make sure the wires and tubes are not touching the hot plate! Record temperature and pressure values as the water bath heats. Take a reading every 3-4 degrees temperature change. Take readings until the pressure reaches above 1300 mm Hg or the temperature reaches 80 oC (whichever comes first).

7. When finished taking data, remove the flask from the water bath and remove the rubber stopper. Empty the small amount of liquid into the Organic Waste Container.

DATA Workup Creating your Excel Plot: A video recording of the following Excel manipulations is available on the laboratory website. Enter your data in Excel. General Excel Rule: Dont use column A. Column A can be bad for you. Only use data for which the pressure value is at least 100 mm Hg greater than the initial value. Put temperature values in Column B. If they are in oC units, use column C to convert to units of Kelvin. Use column D to calculate the inverse temperature, 1/T. Put pressure values in Column E. You are interested in the vapor pressure of the liquid. That pressure is added to the atmospheric pressure of the air in the flask in the first place. So, use column F to subtract the initial pressure from all the other pressures. Use column G to calculate the natural log of pressure, ln (P). Make a scatter plot of ln P vs. 1/T. Right click on one of the points and choose to Add Trendline, select Show Equation on Chart and Display R2 Value.

Calculating Hvap: This part is easy. Hvap = (slope of plot) x R; R = 8.314 J/Kmol Data was obtained for the class for the following compounds:

Make Excel plots and calculate Hvap for each of these. Discussion Make a table containing all the compounds that includes each compound name, its enthalpy of vaporization (which you just calculated), its molar mass, and its dipole moment (look this up on Wikipedia). The larger the dipole moment, the more polar the molecule. A dipole moment of zero means that a molecule is nonpolar.

Central Questions to Answer using your Data: Rank the compounds in terms of relative IMF strength. The more energy it takes to vaporize a liquid, the greater its IMF strength. What are the effects of molar mass and of polarity on the magnitude of the enthalpy of vaporization, and therefore IMF strength? Write a formal laboratory report and be sure to include your excel data and graphs.