A crystal isnt new to us for weve heard about this since grade school.

Crystals are solids that form by a regular repeated pattern of molecules connecting together. The arrangement of atoms or molecules called the unit cell is repeated in exactly the same arrangement over and over throughout the entire material. Due to this we have strange and interesting looking forms of naturally made crystals. The process that is used to purify a substance such as the making of aspirin is what we call Recrystallization. This process is performed by placing the impure compound in a solvent, heating the solution so that the compound dissolves, and filtering the impurities. In some cases, it may be necessary to use carbon to remove colored contaminants from the compound. The mixture is then cooled, allowing pure crystals to form. Recrystallization has 5 steps. These are as follows: First, Find a suitable solvent for the recrystallization, in this step the choice of solvent is a great choice for unwanted impurities should be either very soluble in the solvent at room temperature or insoluble in the hot solvent because this way after the impure solid is dissolved in the hot solvent, any undissolved impurities can be removed from filtration. After the solution cools and the desired compound crystalized out, any remaining soluble impurities will remain dissolved in the solvent. Second is dissolve the impure solid in a minimum volume of hot solvent. In this step impurities may still be present in the solid which were not soluble in the chosen solvent at high temperature. Wherein our third step comes in, filter or decant the hot solution to remove insoluble impurities. Next step is to slowly cool the hot solution to crystallize the desired compound from the solution. If the compound is insoluble in the solvent at room temperature, then the mixture is heated to the solvents boiling point to determine if the solid will dissolve at high temperature, and then cooled to see whether it crystalizes from the solution at room temperature. Lastly, filter the solution to isolate the purified solid compound. This last final filtration by using a suction filtration is to remove any remaining mother liquor and dissolved impurities. Now lets go back to the first step, how should we know if the solvent is suitable? There are four qualifications for this. First, the compound should be very soluble at the boiling point of the solvent and only

sparingly soluble in the solvent at room temperature. This difference in solubility at hot versus cold temperatures is essential for the recrystallization process. If the compound is insoluble in the chosen solvent at high temperatures, then it will not dissolve. If the compound is very soluble in the solvent at room temperature, then getting the compound to crystallize in pure form from solution is difficult. Second, the unwanted impurities should be either very soluble in the solvent at room temperature or insoluble in the hot solvent. This way, after the impure solid is dissolved in the hot solvent, any undissolved impurities can be removed by filtration. After the solution cools and the desired compound crystallizes out, any remaining soluble impurities will remain dissolved in the solvent. Third, the solvent should not react with the compound being purified. The desired compound may be lost during recrystallization if the solvent reacts with the compound. Lastly, the solvent should be volatile enough to be easily removed from the solvent after the compound has crystallized. This allows for easy and rapid drying of the solid compound after it has been isolated from the solution. Pure, crystalline solids have a characteristic melting point, the temperature at which the solid melts to become a liquid. The transition between the solid and the liquid is so sharp for small samples of a pure substance that melting points can be measured to 0.1oC. Measurements of the melting point of a solid can also provide information about the purity of the substance. Pure, crystalline solids melt over a very narrow range of temperatures, whereas mixtures melt over a broad temperature range. Mixtures also tend to melt at temperatures below the melting points of the pure solids.

REFERENCE Kiwi web, 2011 WiseGeek, 2013 Rhodium.ws, 2013 Bodner, 2013

(Ill be going sa Christmas party so I FEEL BAD without helping.. here I did my part.. If budlayan gd ikaw kag kulang pa akon inubrahan ill do extra work pagkaaga total 12 mn man ni ipass.. Dont forget to pdf file.. HAHA thanks -jap )