In the lab I was synthesising an ester with sulphuric acid as a catalyst. However the mixture turned brown and my teacher said I had burnt the acid, but what does this actually mean?
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1$\begingroup$ It might be worth adding some details on the process you were using to make the ester, describing it as burning the acid sounds a little unusual on his part. $\endgroup$ – PeterJ Nov 4 '18 at 12:28
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$\begingroup$ I was heating the mixture under reflux but he said i was heating it too strong and as a result i 'burnt' the acid $\endgroup$ – H.Linkhorn Nov 4 '18 at 12:34
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$\begingroup$ chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/60708/… $\endgroup$ – Nilay Ghosh Nov 4 '18 at 15:10
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$\begingroup$ It isn't acid, but rest of mixture that was damaged by H2SO4 if you overheat. $\endgroup$ – Mithoron Nov 4 '18 at 19:25
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$\begingroup$ what damage will be taking place then? $\endgroup$ – H.Linkhorn Nov 4 '18 at 20:04
