Reactions
Ethyl acetate can be hydrolyzed in acidic or basic conditions to regain acetic acid and ethanol. The use of an acid catalyst accelerates the hydrolysis, which is subject to the Fischer equilibrium mentioned above. In the laboratory, and usually for illustrative purposes only, ethyl esters are typically hydrolyzed in a two step process starting with a stoichiometric amount of strong base, such as sodium hydroxide. This reaction gives ethanol and sodium acetate, which is unreactive toward ethanol:
- CH3CO2C2H5 + NaOH → C2H5OH + CH3CO2Na
The rate constant is 6.85 L/mol.min at 25 °C.
Read more about this topic: Ethyl Acetate
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