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Topic: smell???  (Read 5832 times)

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TakeItEasy

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smell???
« on: July 18, 2005, 02:21:16 PM »
Could any of you please tell me some GOLDEN TIPS to distinguish the smell of esters?

Offline movies

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Re:smell???
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2005, 03:36:29 PM »
They tend to smell kind of fruity.  Which fruit depends on what the component parts are.

Offline Donaldson Tan

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Re:smell???
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2005, 04:52:59 PM »
why would anyone want to identify a chemical (ester) by sense of smell?
"Say you're in a [chemical] plant and there's a snake on the floor. What are you going to do? Call a consultant? Get a meeting together to talk about which color is the snake? Employees should do one thing: walk over there and you step on the friggin� snake." - Jean-Pierre Garnier, CEO of Glaxosmithkline, June 2006

TakeItEasy

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Re:smell???
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2005, 12:03:55 PM »
Actually,in my last practical exam there was a question like this:''Distinguish between the smell of the unknown compounds''.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2005, 12:04:35 PM by Quark »

Offline alphahydroxy

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Re:smell???
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2005, 02:25:55 PM »
hmm... dodgy exam questions - what do they teach 'em these days  ;)

esters tend to have a distinctive smell - often kind of fruity and sweet. sometimes a bit funky like foot cheese.

they tend to become easily distinguishable once you've spent some time with them in the lab...

think ethyl acetate.... etc.

Nucleophile

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Re:smell???
« Reply #5 on: July 19, 2005, 06:30:36 PM »
Quote
Actually,in my last practical exam there was a question like this:''Distinguish between the smell of the unknown compounds''.

Eh?

This is definetly wrong. Now I admit, to my great shame, that I've used my nose to identify substances before, but it certainly shouldn't be as part of any question or procedure.

Offline jdurg

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Re:smell???
« Reply #6 on: July 20, 2005, 09:18:04 AM »
I actually think that's a good question.  While you should never use your sense of smell as a definitive analytical tool, I see no problem in showing people another 'tool' they have in the analysis of a compound.  If you make an ester out of some unknown chemicals, your sense of smell can save you a TON of time on the analysis.  Just based upon the odor alone, you should be able to narrow down the list of possible esters that it could be.  This makes analyzing your NMR and IR data a heck of a lot easier.
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TakeItEasy

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Re:smell???
« Reply #7 on: July 20, 2005, 09:58:10 AM »
Well that's my problem...i can't distinguish between two estres by just smelling them...and also to do as the way you said i would have to smell many esters and save that particular smell in my memory...talking about smelling, i don't trust my sense of smelling very much[LOL]

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