Suppose you have to extract the acetaminophen from ether using the acid-base extraction techniques. The pKa of acetaminophen is 9.38 and you will need the following information: The pKa of HCl is -7; pKa of carbonic acid is 6.52 and the pKa of sodium hydroxide is 15.
1. Explain which among HCl, sodium hydroxide and sodium bicarbonate solutions would you use to extract acetaminophen from ether?
2. Discuss why would you use that particular solution?
3. Illustrate the structure of the species that produces in the aqueous layer after the above extraction.
4. Explain which among HCl, sodium hydroxide and sodium bicarbonate and solutions would you use to regenerate acetaminophen in the aqueous layer?