Hydrolysis of methyl laurate
A total of 0.01mol of methyl laurate (molecular weight = 214.3 g/mol; 2.143 g) and 0.08 mol of NaOH
(molecular weight = 40 g/mol; 3.4 g) are mixed in a 100 mL three-neck flask and stirred for 30 min. 30 mL of
distilled water is then added to this mixture and stirring is continued until all solids dissolved. The product is
removed from the flask, put in a separating funnel and then neutralized with 30 ml of 10% HCl solution until
reaching pH 1. The product is subsequently extracted with 3×15 mL n-hexane. The organic layer is washed with
distilled water to get a neutral pH and dried with anhydrous Na2SO4. Evaporation is done to remove the remaining
n-hexane solvent and the residue is further analyzed by IR spectrometry and 1H NMR (Delta 2-NMR, ECA
500MHz)