How do you separate o-toluic acid from a mixture of o-toluic acid and fluorene and 1 4-dibromozene?

Answer 1

To separate fluorene from toluic acid, one can oxidize the fluorene to fluorene in air by dissolving the mixture in a mix of toluene and strong sodium hydroxide. By adding a phase transfer catalyst like Aliquat, the two components can be separated.

Answer 2

I don't know what "1 4-dibromozene" is supposed to be, but I'd probably dissove them in pet ether and then use extraction techniques with a mildly basic aqueous solution, followed by acidification to regenerate the acid.

I've left out some details that should be obvious to anyone with a ghost of a chance of actually doing this properly.

Answer 3

One way to separate o-toluic acid from the mixture is to first dissolve the mixture in a suitable solvent. Then, add a base to convert the o-toluic acid to its sodium salt, which is soluble in water. Next, acidify the aqueous solution to precipitate the o-toluic acid. The fluorene and 1,4-dibromobenzene will remain in the organic layer. You can then separate the layers and isolate the o-toluic acid from the aqueous layer.