Question

What happens when Ethanol is heated with Ethanoic acid (Acetic acid) in the presence of Conc. Sulphuric acid?

Answer 1

• The reaction of Ethanol and Acetic acid in the presence of conc. ${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$forms Ethyl acetate.
• The chemical reaction is as follows:

$$\begin{gathered} {\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{CH}}_2\mathrm{OH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)\stackrel{\mathrm{Conc}.{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4}{\to }{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{COOCH}}_2{\mathrm{CH}}_3\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2\mathrm{O}\left(\mathrm{l}\right) \\ \mathrm{Ethyl}\mathrm{alcohol}\mathrm{Acetic}\mathrm{acid}\mathrm{Ethyl}\mathrm{acetate} \end{gathered}$$

• The above reaction of an alcohol with an acid in the presence of conc. ${\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4$ to form an ester is called an esterification reaction.