Ethyl Acetate Formula – Structure, Properties, Uses

Ethyl Acetate Formula: In chemical laboratories, we often notice a pleasant fruity smell when mixing alcohol with a carboxylic acid. This fruity smell comes due to the formation of another class of compounds, ‘ Esters.’ They are functional groups having the general formula \({\rm{RCOOR’,}}\) where both \({\rm{R}}\) and \({\rm{R’}}\) are alkyl groups. Ethyl acetate is an ester formed from ethanol and ethanoic acid or acetic acid in the presence of a few drops of sulphuric acid.

The chemical formula of ethyl acetate is \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}\) Where ethyl part comes from ethanol and ethanoate part comes from ethanoic acid. Due to its volatile nature and pleasant smell, it is widely used in perfumery. Ethyl acetate is a widely used polar aprotic solvent and is highly flammable. Due to this reason, it should be stored safely and handled with utmost care in the chemical laboratories. In this article, let’s learn everything about the ethyl acetate formula in detail.

Formula and Structure of Ethyl Acetate

Ethyl acetate is an ester having chemical formula as \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}\) and its condensed formula is \({{\rm{C}}_4}{{\rm{H}}_8}{{\rm{O}}_2}\) formed by the ‘esterification’ reaction of ethanol \(\left( {{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}{\rm{OH}}} \right)\) and acetic acid \(\left( {{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COOH}}} \right).\) As the nomenclature of Ester according to the IUPAC rule is ‘Alkyl Alkanoate,’ the IUPAC name is ethyl acetate or ethyl ethanoate. Ethyl acetate is also abbreviated as EtOAc. During the Esterification reaction, the ester group is formed by the replacement of the hydroxy group by the ethoxy group in a carboxylic acid. Ethyl acetate contains a carbonyl group where this carbon of carbonyl group has \({\rm{s}}{{\rm{p}}^{\rm{2}}}\) hybridization. It has trigonal planar geometry.

Physical Properties of Ethyl Acetate

The physical properties of ethyl acetate are explained below:

Synthesis of Ethyl Acetate

1. Tishchenko Reaction – It is a reaction in which disproportionation of aldehydes occurs in the presence of an alkoxide. Ethyl acetate is synthesized by the combination of two equivalents of ethanal or acetaldehyde in the presence of an alkoxide catalyst.

\(2{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{CHO}} + {\rm{MetalAlkoxide(Catalyst)}} \to {\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}\)

2. Ethyl acetate is also manufactured by alkylation of Ethanoic acid by ethylene by using Silicotungstic acid.

\({{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_4} + {\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COOH}} \to {\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COOC}}{{\rm{H}}_2}{\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}\)

3. Fischer Esterification: This reaction is the most widely used method to produce esters on a large scale in industries. In this method, Ethanol and Ethanoic acid or Acetic acid are mixed in the presence of few drops of sulphuric acid, giving a fruity smell on the formation of an ester Ethyl acetate’.

Uses of Ethyl Acetate

1. Ethyl acetate is widely used as a solvent in chemical laboratories for column and thin-layer chromatography to purify chemical compounds.
2. Ethyl acetate is also used as a solvent in making paints, lacquers, varnishes, cleaning liquids, artificial leather, smokeless powder, photographic films, artificial silk, etc.
3. In the Cosmetic Industry, ethyl acetate has a wide range of uses in nail polish, nail polish remover, perfumes, and many more.

4. As a flavouring agent: In the food industry, ethyl acetate is used as a flavouring agent. It has a sweet and fruity smell, bringing fruity flavours to candy, bakery products, etc.

5. Decaffeination Process: Since Ethyl acetate is a polar molecule, it proves to be a good solvent for capturing the polar caffeine molecules from the coffee beans as the caffeine molecules bind to the ethyl acetate molecules and remove the caffeine from coffee beans.

6. In the Pharmaceutical industry, ethyl acetate is widely used as an extraction solvent.

7. Ethyl acetate is used as a solvent in printing inks, where its primary function is to dissolve the resin, control the viscosity, and modify the drying rate.

8. Due to its sweet smell, ethyl acetate is used in wine production.

Health Hazards caused due to Ethyl Acetate

Due to overexposure to ethyl acetate, many adverse effects are observed in humans. Some of them are:

1. Inhalation of ethyl acetate to a toxic level can cause breathing problems.
2. If ethyl acetate is ingested in large amounts, it can lead to a rapid release of acetic acid, which may cause acidosis and hepatocellular damage and prove to be life-threatening.
3. Overexposure to ethyl acetate may cause irritation in the skin, eyes, throat, and nose. On more exposure, it may lead to a feeling of dizziness and lightheadedness. 
4. If a person comes in regular contact with ethyl acetate, it may make the skin very dry, leading to cracking of the skin.

Summary

Ethyl acetate is an ester with a chemical formula \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}.\) Its IUPAC name is Ethyl Ethanoate, where “Ethyl part” comes from ethanol and “Ethanoate part” comes from ethanoic acid. Ethyl acetate is prepared by an esterification reaction of ethanol and ethanoic acid or acetic acid in an acidified medium. It is a highly volatile and aprotic solvent and possesses a pleasant fruity smell.
 
Due to these properties, \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}\) is widely used in the perfumery, other cosmetic products like nail polish removers, or nail polish itself. It is also used as a food flavouring agent due to its fruity smell. 

Ethyl acetate is a widely used solvent in industries and chemical laboratories. But it is a highly flammable liquid and may cause serious accidents. Thus, it should be handled properly with utmost care. It should be stored in a cool, well-ventilated, and dry place to avoid any contact with objects that may cause ignition.  Also, while carrying out laboratory work, it should be used very carefully; wearing a mask and goggles are important as over-exposure to Ethyl acetate may cause irritation to the nose, eyes, skin, etc. In short, Ethyl acetate is one of the most important compounds among all esters.

FAQs on Ethyl Acetate Formula

Q.1. What is ethyl acetate?
Ans: Ethyl acetate is an organic compound that belongs to the “Esters” functional group. Ethyl acetate is prepared by an esterification reaction of ethanol and ethanoic acid or acetic acid in an acidified medium, giving a sweet fruity smell.

Q.2. How do you write ethyl acetate?
Ans: The chemical formula of ethyl acetate is \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}.\) “Ethyl part” comes from ethanol, and “Acetate part” comes from acetic acid. It contains a carbonyl group where this carbon of carbonyl group has sp2 hybridization.

Q.3. What is the IUPAC name for ethyl acetate?
Ans: The IUPAC name of ethyl acetate is ethyl ethanoate, where “Ethyl part” comes from ethanol and “Ethanoate part” comes from ethanoic acid.

Q.4. What is ethyl acetate used for?
Ans: Ethyl acetate has a pleasant smell and is highly volatile. Due to these reasons, it is widely used as a solvent in paints, varnishes, perfumery, etc. Ethyl acetate is also used in nail polish, as a food flavouring agent, in the pharmaceutical industry for extracting drugs, in decaffeination of coffee beans, and many more.

Q.5. What is the difference between ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol?
Ans: The basic difference between ethyl acetate and ethyl alcohol is that ethyl acetate belongs to the ester functional group while ethyl alcohol belongs to the alcohol functional group. The chemical formula of ethyl acetate is \({\rm{C}}{{\rm{H}}_3}{\rm{COO}}{{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}\) and the chemical formula of ethyl alcohol is \({{\rm{C}}_2}{{\rm{H}}_5}{\rm{OH}}.\) Based on chemical reactivities, ethanol is formed by the fermentation of glucose by enzymes present in yeast, but ethyl acetate is formed when ethyl alcohol reacts with ethanoic acid in an acidic medium.

Q.6. What is the ethyl acetate formula structure?
Ans: Ethyl acetate belongs to the ester group and is formed by the replacement of the hydroxy group by the ethoxy group in a carboxylic acid. Ethyl acetate contains a carbonyl group where this carbon of carbonyl group has \({\rm{s}}{{\rm{p}}^{\rm{2}}}\) hybridization. It has trigonal planar geometry around carbonyl carbon. The condensed chemical formula of ethyl acetate is \({{\rm{C}}_4}{{\rm{H}}_8}{{\rm{O}}_2}.\) Its structure is given below:

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