Esters

Manufacture Of Esters

esters are formed by reacting acids with alcohols.

when ethanoic acid is warmed with ethanol,
in the presence of a few drops of concentrated sulphuric acid as a catalyst,
an ester is formed.
this ester is ethyl ethanoate and like all esters, it has a sweet smell.

ethanol + ethanoic acid <-> ethyl ethanoate + water
C2 H5 OH (aq) + CH3 COOH (aq) <-> CH3 COO C2 H5 (aq) + H2O (l)

as this reaction produces an ester,
it is therefore called esterification.
but this reaction is reversible.


Hydrolysis

meaning that the ester obtained can be changed back into an alcohol and organic carboxylic acid by boiling the ester with sodium hydroxide.

this is a reaction with water and it is called hydrolysis.


in short,

-esters are sweet smelling, volatile liquids.

-carboxylic acids react with alcohol to form esters.

-hydrolysis of an ester produces an alcohol and an organic acid.

chill-