Ester

In organic chemistry and biochemistry, esters are organic compounds where an organic group (symbolised by R' in this article) replaces a hydrogen atom (or more than one) in an oxygen acid. An oxygen acid is an acid whose molecule has an -{{Oxygen}}{{Hydrogen}} group from which the hydrogen (H) can dissociate as an H+ ion.

Related Topics:
Organic chemistry - Biochemistry - Organic compound - Organic group - Hydrogen - Atom - Oxygen - Acid - Molecule - Group - Dissociate - Ion

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Esters are named similar to salts; although they don't really have cations and anions, the terminology follows the same pattern: a more electropositive part followed by a more electronegative part.

Related Topics:
Salt - Cation - Anion

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The most common esters are the carboxylate esters, where the acid in question is a carboxylic acid. For example, if the acid is acetic acid, the ester is called an acetate.

Related Topics:
Carboxylic acid - Acetic acid - Acetate

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Esters may also be formed with inorganic acids; for example, dimethyl sulfate is an ester, and sometimes called "sulfuric acid, dimethyl ester".

Related Topics:
Inorganic - Dimethyl sulfate - Sulfuric acid - Methyl

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An ester can be thought of as a product of a condensation reaction of an acid (usually an organic acid) and an alcohol (or phenol compound), although there are other ways to form esters. Condensation is a type of chemical reaction in which two molecules with -OH groups are joined with eliminating a water molecule from their -OH groups. A condensation reaction to form an ester is called esterification. Esterification can be catalysed by the presence of H+ ions. Sulfuric acid is often used as a catalyst for this reaction. The name ester is derived from the German Essig-Aether, an old name for acetic acid ethyl ester (ethyl acetate).

Related Topics:
Condensation reaction - Organic acid - Alcohol - Phenol - Chemical reaction - Molecule - Water molecule - Esterification - Catalyst - Ethyl acetate

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This is the general displayed formula of an ester of a carboxylic acid:

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