[AmatureCHBE]

Hello. I have recently attempted to make a small amount of iodofrom (triiodomethane); however, the experiment did not go the way I hoped.

I dissolved a small amount of iodine (extracted out of Tincture of Iodine) in a small amount of acetone. I then added just enough of a 6 molar solution of sodium hydroxide to make a decent portion of the iodine color to fade. No solid iodoform formed even after letting the solution to sit for 24+ hours. Any idea what I did wrong or what I should do to get some iodoform to precipitate?

Thanks for your time today.

[stewie griffin]

You need at least 3 equivalents of iodine to make this work. You said you dissolved a small amount of iodine in acetone... Perhaps you didn't have enough equivalents.

[AmatureCHBE]

Shoot. Thanks for pointing that out. I should have thought to figure out some mole ratios before mixing stuff together. So, after some calculations, I'm going to need 13.1g of iodine for every 1.00g of acetone and 2.75g of sodium hydroxide. Theoretically, this should yield 6.78g of iodoform.

That's quite a bit of iodine. Thanks again for your time.

[csrscience.com]

Add the iodine to a solution of NaOH first, and then slowly add the acetone.
Good luck getting that much iodine!