when i add methyl salicylate to aqueous sodium hydroxide, immediately a white solid forms... that is sodium salicylate is it?? Since it hasn't been heating under reflux yet.

That's what I would think although I'm not an organic chemist. I don't know what else you will do to it but I suspect it will dissolve upon heating, especially of water is added since the sodium salt is soluble in water.

http://users.stlcc.edu/mhauser/Hyd%20Methyl%20Sal.pdf

Yes, when you add methyl salicylate to aqueous sodium hydroxide, it undergoes a reaction called hydrolysis. This reaction results in the formation of sodium salicylate.

To understand why a white solid forms in this reaction, we need to look at the reactants and products involved:

- Methyl salicylate (C8H8O3) is an ester, typically extracted from wintergreen oil. It has a sweet wintergreen smell.

- Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is a strong base commonly known as caustic soda.

During hydrolysis, the ester bond in methyl salicylate is broken by the base (sodium hydroxide) through a process called saponification. The base removes the methyl group (CH3) and forms sodium methylate (NaCH3). At the same time, the hydroxide ion (OH-) reacts with the remaining salicylate portion of the molecule to form sodium salicylate (NaC7H5O3). This reaction can be represented as follows:

C8H8O3 + NaOH → NaC7H5O3 + CH3OH

The white solid that forms immediately after mixing the reactants is indeed sodium salicylate. It appears white because it is a solid salt. It is important to note that the reaction does not require heating under reflux for the formation of sodium salicylate.

In summary, when you add methyl salicylate to aqueous sodium hydroxide, a white solid forms, which is sodium salicylate. This is due to the hydrolysis reaction that occurs between the ester and the base.