What are the steps used to name an ester?

1 Answer
Feb 28, 2015

The alcohol forms the first part of the name, and the acid forms the second part.

For example, CH₃COOH + CH₃CH₂OH → CH₃COOCH₂CH₃

The name consists of two words.

The first word is the name of the alkyl group in the alcohol.

If the alcohol is CH₃CH₂OH, the first word is "ethyl".

The second word is the name of the acid minus "-ic acid" plus "-ate".

If the acid is CH₃COOH (ethanoic acid), the second word in the name is "ethanoate".

The complete name of the ester is then "ethyl ethanoate".