What are the steps used to name an ester?
1 Answer
The alcohol forms the first part of the name, and the acid forms the second part.
For example, CH₃COOH + CH₃CH₂OH → CH₃COOCH₂CH₃
The name consists of two words.
The first word is the name of the alkyl group in the alcohol.
If the alcohol is CH₃CH₂OH, the first word is "ethyl".
The second word is the name of the acid minus "-ic acid" plus "-ate".
If the acid is CH₃COOH (ethanoic acid), the second word in the name is "ethanoate".
The complete name of the ester is then "ethyl ethanoate".
