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Topic: Organic chemistry help please.!  (Read 4054 times)

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Offline zerofreak

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Organic chemistry help please.!
« on: January 07, 2011, 11:48:00 AM »
give the names and formulate of the two compounds formed wen the ester ethyl propanoate is hydrolysed.
Please answer with steps. Thanks in advance. :D

Offline sjb

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Re: Organic chemistry help please.!
« Reply #1 on: January 07, 2011, 12:48:31 PM »
give the names and formulate of the two compounds formed wen the ester ethyl propanoate is hydrolysed.
Please answer with steps. Thanks in advance. :D

Well, depends partially on conditions, but what are the two components of any ester hydrolysis?

Offline nezva

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Re: Organic chemistry help please.!
« Reply #2 on: January 07, 2011, 01:44:13 PM »
hydro- :  pertaining to water or fluid.
-lysis :    from Latin lysis, from Ancient Greek λύσις (“‘loosening’”)
Hydrolysis - "breaking apart with water"

This article on Fischer Esterification is very useful for the more in-depth information of esters:
http://www.organic-chemistry.org/namedreactions/fischer-esterification.shtm

An ester is traditionally formed by dehydration of two molecules: a carboxylic acid and an alcohol.  Dehydration  yields larger molecules and can be thought of as the reverse of hydrolysis, which results in smaller molecules.  Carboxylic acids are named as such since they can readily lose a proton (H+) under relatively mild conditions.  Alcohols do NOT lose protons readily and have pka's closer to that of water.  For the -OH to be removed from an acohol it must be first protonated (by the carb. acid in this case) to make -OH+. Water is a much better leaving group than -OH.

Simple answer (if you don't like learning):
From the IUPAC naming system,
the carboxylic acid part of the ester ends in -oate  
Since only the alkyl chain moeity of the alcohol is attached to the ester, the aklyl chaing is placed before the -oate word.

Offline sjb

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Re: Organic chemistry help please.!
« Reply #3 on: January 07, 2011, 04:25:13 PM »
So which acid and alcohol do you use to make ethyl propanoate?

Offline Grundalizer

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Re: Organic chemistry help please.!
« Reply #4 on: January 07, 2011, 09:45:49 PM »
ethanol and propanoic acid

Offline orgstudy

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Re: Organic chemistry help please.!
« Reply #5 on: January 10, 2011, 09:25:13 AM »
You know your reaction should be either acid or base catalyzed!!!

products will be: Propanoic acid & ethanol.

Mechaism: http://www.chem.ucalgary.ca/courses/351/Carey5th/Ch20/ch20-3-3-1.html
Chemistry is a subject in which even the Professor can get confused at any time.

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