How do we represent the saponification of ethyl acetate by sodium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide?

1 Answer
anor277
Feb 18, 2016

"H"_3"CCH"_2"C(=O)OC"_2"H"_5 + "NaOH" rarr "C"_2"H"_5"OH + H"_3"CCH"_2"C(=O)O"^(-)"Na"^+

Explanation:

Alternatively,

"ethyl propanoate + sodium hydroxide" rarr "sodium propanoate + ethyl alcohol"

The ester linkage is labile to hydrolysis by either aqueous acid or aqueous base. With base, and with longer esters, this is a saponification reaction, because it is used to make soap (on which we all depend!).

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