Question

Esters are sweet-smelling substances and are used in making perfumes. Suggest some activity and the reaction involved in the preparation of an ester with a well-labelled diagram.

Answer 1

Esterification: The reaction of alcohols and carboxylic acids to form pleasant-smelling esters is known as esterification.

The activity involved the preparation of an ester

Step 1

A test- tube takes 1mL Ethanol and 1 mL glacial Acetic acid.

Step 2

Add a few drops of concentrated Sulphuric acid (${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$).

Step 3

Warm the test tube for 5 minutes over a water bath.

Step 4

Transfer the content to a beaker. The sweet smell confirms the formation of ester.

Labelled diagram

Chemical Reaction

$\underset{\mathrm{ethanoic}\mathrm{acid}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{ethanol}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}\to \underset{\mathrm{ethyl}\mathrm{ethanoate}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{COCH}}_2{\mathrm{CH}}_3\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}$