Complete the reaction:
Methanol and propanoic acid are mixed.
Okay, I got the two formulas:
CH3OH + CH3CH2COOH ---> ???
...now I don't know what to do. Lots of CH3's and CH2's. Help?
Thanks!
Here's the secret.
ROH are alcohols.
RCOOH are acids. I will write this as R'COOH to differentiate this R with the R of the alcohol. They can be but are not always the same.
Alcohols + acids = esters + H2O.
ROH + R'COOH ==> R'COOR + H2O
So you take CH3CH2COOH + CH3OH ==>
CH3CH2COOCH3 which is methyl propionate.
To complete the reaction, we need to first determine the products formed when methanol and propanoic acid react. In this case, we can expect an acid-base reaction to occur. Methanol is a base, and propanoic acid is an acid. When a base and an acid react, they form a salt and water.
The reaction between methanol (CH3OH) and propanoic acid (CH3CH2COOH) can be represented as follows:
CH3OH + CH3CH2COOH ---> CH3CH2COOCH3 + H2O
In this reaction, the methanol (CH3OH) acts as a base by accepting a proton (H+) from the propanoic acid (CH3CH2COOH), which acts as an acid. As a result, a salt called methyl propanoate (CH3CH2COOCH3) is formed, along with water (H2O).
Therefore, the complete reaction is:
CH3OH + CH3CH2COOH ---> CH3CH2COOCH3 + H2O