Question

What happens when Ethanol is added to Acetic acid?

Answer 1

Ethanol and Acetic acid:
1. Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol has the chemical formula
$C_2{H}_{5}OH$.
2. Acetic acid, also known as Ethanoic acid has the chemical formula $C{H}_{3}COOH$.
Reaction:
1. When Ethanol is treated with Acetic acid in the presence of concentrated sulphuric acid, it forms an ester compound named Ethyl ethanoate $\left(C_{3}COO{C}_2{H}_5\right)$
2. The reaction is given below:
${\text{C}}_2{\text{H}}_5\text{OH (l)}+{\text{CH}}_3\text{COOH (l)}\stackrel{conc.{\text{H}}_2{\text{SO}}_4}{\to }{\text{CH}}_3{\text{COOC}}_2{\text{H}}_5\left(l\right)+{\text{H}}_2\text{O (l)}$
Hence, when Ethanol is added to Acetic acid, it forms Ethyl ethanoate.