Question

Give a chemical equation for the reaction between ethyl alcohol and acetic acid?

Answer 1

Hint: The reaction between an alcohol and an acid is called an esterification reaction. This is for the simple reason that alcohol and acid, on reacting together, form an ester. The general formula for an ester is $RCOOR$ , where $R$ is an alkyl or aryl group.

Complete step by step answer:
Alcohol is a chemical compound having $ - OH$ as the functional group, while a carboxylic (organic) acid is a chemical compound having $ - COOH$ as the functional group. The chemical formula for ethyl alcohol is $C{H_3}C{H_2}OH$, and the chemical formula for acetic acid is $C{H_3}C{H_2}COOH$.
When ethyl alcohol reacts with acetic acid, the hydroxyl group of the alcohol and the hydrogen of the acid react together and get eliminated as a water molecule. The ethyl $({C_2}{H_5})$ groups of ethyl alcohol and acetic acid react together to form an ester. The ester, thus, formed is called ethyl ethanoate or ethyl acetate.
The esterification of ethyl alcohol and acetic acid can be shown through the following reaction:
${C_2}{H_5}OH + {C_2}{H_5}COOH \to {C_2}{H_5}COO{C_2}{H_5} + {H_2}O$

Note: An ester is a carboxylic acid $(RCOOH)$ derivative formed by the replacement of the hydrogen ion $({H^ + })$ in the acid by a similar or different alkyl group $R$ or $R'$.
The mechanism of the reaction between ethyl alcohol and acetic acid can be shown as follows:
${C_2}H_5^ + O{H^ - } + {C_2}{H_5}CO{O^ - }{H^ + } \to {C_2}{H_5}COO{C_2}{H_5} + {H_2}O$
The positive part of ethyl alcohol reacts with the negative part of acetic acid, and the negative part of ethyl alcohol reacts with the positive part of acetic acid to form an ester and a water molecule.