Acid Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Esters (II)
- Page ID
- 5921
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Introduction
Esters can be cleaved back into a carboxylic acid and an alcohol by reaction with water and a catalytic amount of acid.
General Reaction
| Example 1: |
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Mechanism
1) Protonation of the Carbonyl
2) Nucleophilic attack by water
3) Proton transfer
4) Leaving group removal
Contributors
Prof. Steven Farmer (Sonoma State University)