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Subject - Organic Chemistry
In a narrow sense, esters are organic compounds of the formula R-CO-O-R' with R'≠H. Ethylacetate, , frequently used as solvent, is an important representative of this compound class. Esters can be prepared from carboxylic acids and alcohols or phenols with loss of water.
R-COOH + R'-OH → R-CO-O-R' +
The use of proton acids other than carboxylic acids in the synthetic scheme mentioned above leads to an extended class of esters. Examples are methyl nitrate , an ester of nitric acid, and dimethyl sulfate , an ester of sulfuric acid.
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