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Topic: How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters?  (Read 7805 times)

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Offline AN.

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How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters?
« on: December 04, 2007, 05:14:14 PM »
How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters? Can I use some other acid instead?
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Offline RBF

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Re: How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters?
« Reply #1 on: December 04, 2007, 06:23:23 PM »
Acids protonate the carbonyl oxygen, making the carbonyl group more electrophilic.  Since the reaction is equilibrium limited, water is avoided, which is why conc sulfuric is typically used rather than conc HCl.  p-toluenesulfonic acid (pTsOH) is also used frequently.
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Offline AN.

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Re: How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters?
« Reply #2 on: December 04, 2007, 10:54:53 PM »
Thanks for the help but I'm still a little confuse about the reaction being equilbrium limited and why water can't be used.
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Offline agrobert

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Re: How does sulphuric acid catalyze the preparation of esters?
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2007, 01:00:06 AM »
water drives reaction backwards to the carboxylic acid
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In the realm of scientific observation, luck is only granted to those who are prepared. -Louis Pasteur
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