Flower Shop Reaction

 

                                                                             Violet

 

 

 

Odor Of Violets 

 

Flower Shop Reaction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need washing soda (sodium carbonate) and castor oil. Sodium carbonate is used in laundry, cooking, and as a water softener. Castor oil is sold in pharmacies.

 

1. Add a few drops of castor oil to a scoop of sodium carbonate in a heat-safe container, such as a glass test tube or small frying pan.
2. Heat the base of the container using a flame or burner until white vapor rises from the chemicals.
3. Remove the container from heat and walk around the room with it so the fragrance spreads. Do you smell the odor of violets?

The reaction between sodium carbonate and castor oil involves a lot of steps, but the end result is a molecule called indole.

Citral, acetone, and calcium oxide participate in an aldol condensation, followed by a rearrangement reaction, forming both alpha-ionone and beta-ionone.

                                                                            Snapshot