How to Name Esters in Organic Chemistry

TL;DR

To name esters, first identify and name the portion containing both oxygen atoms with the suffix 'oate,' followed by naming the alkyl group without the oxygen, adding 'yl' to the end. For example, the ester formed from propanoic acid and ethanol is named propyl propanoate. Remember that common names can differ from IUPAC names.

Transcript

in this video we're going to focus on naming esters so here's our first example esters have two oxygens and it contains one carbonyl group that's the carbon double bonded to the oxygen now there's two parts that you want to focus on the portion that has both oxygens including the carbonyl group and the other part notice on the right we have three c... Read More

Key Insights

• 🫀 Esters have a carbonyl group and two oxygen atoms.
• 🥳 To name an ester, identify the parts of the molecule and name each portion separately.
• 🫀 The names of the substituents depend on the number of carbon atoms in each portion.
• 📛 Common names for esters can be different from their IUPAC names.
• 🧘 Esters with complex substituents or multiple substituents require careful naming and consideration of substituent positions.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Esters consist of a carbonyl group and two oxygen atoms.

• The portion with both oxygen atoms is named first, followed by the part without the oxygen atoms.

• The ending of the name depends on the number of carbon atoms in each portion.