last updated Friday, February 20, 2004

Meeting #13

The next quiz will be administered on Wednesday February 25, 2004 at 8 am. It will cover the entire project (Grignard, Esterification and Nitration).

1. Referring to the esterification part of the project

a. why is water added to the reaction mixture after the reaction?

b. why is it important that the benzoic acid used in this reaction is as dry as possible?

c. why is sulfuric acid to the mixture? Show appropriate intermediates.

d. why is an excess of methanol used here?

e. What's the function of the sodium bicarbonate in the work-up process?

f. Why is the reaction mixture refluxed?

2. The Fischer Eserification technique is not a good method to obtain esters of tert. alcohols. Explain briefly why. Suggest two methods to obtain an ester form t-butanol and benzoic acid.

3. The esterification of gamma-hydroxybutyrate can be done under very mild conditions. Explain briefly. What has this compound become famous for?