Purification Of Esters Lab Report

Esters have a very sweet fruity smell. Esters are commonly used in the preparation of artificial flavors or fragrances. Flavors and fragrances may utilize a single ester or a mixture of esters and other substances to duplicate the odor and flavor of a particular fruit. Naturally occurring esters are found in fruits. An ester is a product of the reaction of an acid (carboxylic acid) and an alcohol (the hydrogen of the acid R-COOH is replaced by an alkyl group R'). Esters mainly result from the condensation (a reaction that produces water) of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. The process is called esterification. This reaction can be catalyzed by the presence of H+ ions. Sulfuric acid, H2SO4, is often used as a catalyst for this …show more content…
Note that in the general formula, R-COOR' (the carbon is double-bonded to one oxygen atom and single-bonded to another), the alkyl group (R') is always attached to an oxygen atom. This alkyl group (R') is named as the first word of the two-word name. The second word is derived by adding the ending -oate to the stem of the acid name (-oic in the acid name is replaced by -oate). A reversible reaction between an alcohol and a carboxylic acid causes loss of water and the formation of an ester: Carboxylic Acid + Alcohol Ester + Water The purpose of this experiment is to produce ester by the reaction between carboxylic acid and alcohol. 95% ethanol and glacial acetic acid are synthesized with the presence of concentrated sulfuric acid using Fischer Esterification method. It is a method which esters are obtained by refluxing the parent carboxylic acid with the appropriate alcohol with an acid catalyst. The equilibrium can be driven to completion by using an excess of either the alcohol or the carboxylic acid, or by removing the water as it forms. The reaction between ethanol and glacial acetic acid formed ethyl ethanoate which is highly flammable. Ethyl ethanoate is then run under FT-IR and its smell is