32.1 Alcohols

An acyl chloride reacts with an alcohol to form an ester and hydrogen chloride. The alcohol oxygen attacks the carbonyl carbon; chloride then leaves and the carbonyl is restored.

Name the alcohol and acyl fragments to identify the ester. The reaction is usually rapid at room temperature and does not require the concentrated acid catalyst used for direct esterification.

Ethanoyl chloride + ethanol → ethyl ethanoate + HCl. The ethyl part comes from the alcohol and the ethanoate part from the acyl chloride.

Do not write water as the by-product or reverse the ester name: acyl chloride reactions release HCl, not a neutral condensation molecule.