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Esters are the basis of many naturally occurring odours and are therefore widely used in the creation of artificial flavours - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 3 - 2003 - Paper 1
Question 3
Esters are the basis of many naturally occurring odours and are therefore widely used in the creation of artificial flavours. Methyl butanoate is a component of the ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Esters are the basis of many naturally occurring odours and are therefore widely used in the creation of artificial flavours - VCE - SSCE Chemistry - Question 3 - 2003 - Paper 1
Step 1
Step 2
b. Using 1-butanol and methanol as starting materials give chemical equations showing the steps in the preparation of methyl butanoate. Give the name of any catalyst used.
Answer
- Conversion of 1-butanol to butanoic acid:
CH₃-CH₂-CH₂-CH₂OH → CH₃-CH₂-CH₂-COOH
(1-butanol) (butanoic acid)
- Reaction of butanoic acid with methanol to produce the ester:
CH₃-CH₂-CH₂-COOH + CH₃OH ⇌ CH₃-CH₂-CH₂-COO-CH₃ + H₂O
(butanoic acid) (methanol) (methyl butanoate)
In this step, sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄) is used as a catalyst to facilitate the esterification process.