Heating together sodium ethoxide and ethyl chloride will give:

The reaction represents Williamson’s synthesis.

An alkyl halide is to be primary, so a nucleophilic substitution reaction occurs. Because with tertiary alkyl halides, alkenes are formed. Alkoxides are nucleophiles and strong bases.

• The Williamson ether synthesis is an S_N2 reaction in which an alkoxide ion is a nucleophile that displaces a halide ion from an alkyl halide to give an ether.

C₂H₅Cl + C₂H₅ONa → C₂H₅OC₂H₅ + NaCl