Acetic anhydride is one of those useful chemicals that home chemists just can't seem to get ahold of. In the United States, it's not illegal to own, but it's also not carried by most online stores like Amazon or eBay. And unfortunately, there aren't many published synthesis routes that people can (or should) try at home. The acetyl chloride route requires inaccessible acetyl chloride, and the ketene lamp method produces highly toxic ketene gas. And then, there is my route: the sulfur chloride route! It may stink (literally), but it only requires a distillation setup, vinegar, baking soda, and a few milliliters of easytoproduce sulfur monochloride!

A special thanks to ‪@BackYardScience2000‬ for donating some of his chemicals to my channel! If you ever need specialty reagents, like acetic anhydride or phosphorus pentoxide, be sure to check out his eBay store:
https://www.ebay.com/str/backyardscie...

Official inventory list:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

EDIT: Backyard Science 2000 seems to be closing down operations, so if you want acetic anhydride, you'll either have to make it or buy from another seller like www.chemsavers.com

I included clips in this video by ‪@THYZOID‬ and ‪@DougsLab‬, so be sure to go and check out their acetic anhydride syntheses as well!

WARNING: acetic anhydride and sulfur chloride are both corrosive liquids that produce irritating fumes. Proper safety equipment must be implemented. These chemicals might also be restricted in your area, so be sure to check your local laws before attempting this procedure. This reaction also produces sulfur dioxide gas, which is highly irritating to the respiratory system, so be sure to work outside or in a wellventilated area.

0:00 Warning and intro
0:32 About acetic anhydride
1:02 OTC reagents
1:11 Making the sodium acetate
2:08 Drying the sodium acetate
2:52 Mixing the reagents
3:47 The main reaction
4:09 Observations...and a smell...
5:02 Distilling off the acetic anhydride
5:29 A second distillation w/permanganate
6:06 Burn test
6:36 Reaction with water
7:06 Neutralization: the circle of life continues
7:21 WHY WASTE IT???
7:37 BackYard Science 2000 promotion!
8:08 Conclusion and outro