What is an ester molecule?
Q: What is an ester molecule?
A: An ester molecule is a molecule that includes a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom, and single-bonded to another oxygen atom that is bonded to a carbon atom.
Q: How can esters be made?
A: Esters can be made by reacting a carboxylic acid with an alcohol with some acid.
Q: Where can esters be found?
A: Esters can be found in many substances, especially in fats and oils.
Q: What is a common use for esters?
A: Esters can be used to make perfumes because they sometimes have a very strong, nice smell.
Q: What are polyesters?
A: Polyesters are found in plastics.
Q: What reactions can esters undergo?
A: Esters can easily change the ether part of the molecule with another similar one. It is also possible to reduce the ester to a ketone or an alcohol, which can do many different reactions. Nucleophilic addition is also a good reaction, though a bit more difficult than with ketones.
Q: How can one identify if a molecule has an ester group?
A: One can identify if a molecule has an ester group by using infrared spectroscopy, which gives very sharp signals that are different from other carbonyls, or by using carbon NMR spectroscopy, which has similar characteristics.
