Answer:
The Esterification Process
The Esterification ProcessEsterification occurs when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol. This reaction can only occur in the presence of an acid catalyst and heat. It takes a lot of energy to remove the -OH from the carboxylic acid, so a catalyst and heat are needed to produce the necessary energy.
The Esterification ProcessEsterification occurs when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol. This reaction can only occur in the presence of an acid catalyst and heat. It takes a lot of energy to remove the -OH from the carboxylic acid, so a catalyst and heat are needed to produce the necessary energy.Once the -OH has been removed, the hydrogen on the alcohol can be removed and that oxygen can be connected to the carbon. Because the oxygen was already connected to a carbon, it is now connected to a carbon on both sides, and an ester is formed.
The Esterification ProcessEsterification occurs when a carboxylic acid reacts with an alcohol. This reaction can only occur in the presence of an acid catalyst and heat. It takes a lot of energy to remove the -OH from the carboxylic acid, so a catalyst and heat are needed to produce the necessary energy.Once the -OH has been removed, the hydrogen on the alcohol can be removed and that oxygen can be connected to the carbon. Because the oxygen was already connected to a carbon, it is now connected to a carbon on both sides, and an ester is formed.The methyl acetate that was formed is an ester. In this image, the green circle represents what was the carboxylic acid (in this case acetic acid), and the red circle represents what was the alcohol (in this case methanol):
This reaction lost an -OH from the carboxylic acid and a hydrogen from the alcohol. These two also combine to form water. So any esterification reaction will also form water as a side product.