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Esterification is the general name for a chemical reaction in which two reactants (typically an alcohol and an acid) form an ester as the reaction product. Esters are common in organic chemistry and biological materials, and often have a pleasant characteristic, fruity odor. This leads to their extensive use in the fragrance and flavor industry.
An ester of carboxylic acid.R stands for any group (organic or inorganic) and R′ stands for organyl group.. In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group (−OH) of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (−R).
The conversion of methyl acetate back into its components, by an acid, is a first-order reaction with respect to the ester. The reaction of methyl acetate and a base, for example sodium hydroxide, is a second-order reaction with respect to both reactants. Methyl acetate is a Lewis base that forms 1:1 adducts with a variety of Lewis acids.
If the alcohol produced by the reaction can be separated from the reactants by distillation this will drive the equilibrium toward the products. This means that esters with larger alkoxy groups can be made from methyl or ethyl esters in high purity by heating the mixture of ester, acid/base, and large alcohol.
Three of these alcohols, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 2-pentanol, and 3-methyl-2-butanol (methyl isopropyl carbinol), contain stereocenters, and are therefore chiral and optically active. The most important amyl alcohol is isoamyl alcohol , the chief one generated by fermentation in the production of alcoholic beverages and a constituent of fusel oil .
The term "methyl" was derived in about 1840 by back-formation from "methylene", and was then applied to describe "methyl alcohol". This was shortened to "methanol" in 1892 by the International Conference on Chemical Nomenclature. [29] The suffix-yl, which, in organic chemistry, forms names of carbon groups, is from the word methyl.
The term alcohol originally referred to the primary alcohol ethanol (ethyl alcohol), which is used as a drug and is the main alcohol present in alcoholic drinks. The suffix -ol appears in the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) chemical name of all substances where the hydroxyl group is the functional group with the ...
Methyl salicylate (oil of wintergreen or wintergreen oil) is an organic compound with the formula C 8 H 8 O 3.It is the methyl ester of salicylic acid.It is a colorless, viscous liquid with a sweet, fruity odor reminiscent of root beer (in which it is used as a flavoring), [4] but often associatively called "minty", as it is an ingredient in mint candies. [5]