bnieto87
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Can formic acid self-catalyze Fischer esterification with n-propanol?
I know that for Fischer esterification to take place, you need an acid catalyst, otherwise your reaction will take a very long time. If I have a
n-propanol / formic acid mixture with n-propanol in excess (~20:1 ratio by weight), will esterification take place? I'm wondering if there's a chance
that the formic acid could self-catalyze this reaction.
Additionally, there is some polyacrylic acid in the mixture, about 0.5-1.0wt%, although in such low quantities, I don't imagine it would affect any
potential reactivity very much.
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Boffis
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Yes. If your formic acid is >98% and the alcohol is in large excess and reasonably dry you should get a reasonable yield. Check out Vogel's
"Textbook of Organic Chemistry"
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Nicodem
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Thread Moved
30-1-2017 at 13:28 |
bnieto87
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Quote: Originally posted by Boffis  | | Yes. If your formic acid is >98% and the alcohol is in large excess and reasonably dry you should get a reasonable yield. Check out Vogel's
"Textbook of Organic Chemistry" |
Is there anything else required for this reaction to proceed? Like elevated temperatures, etc.? For example, if they were stored together in a
container for a few days, would that still yield a large amount? As it turns out, the reaction is NOT desirable, so I was really hoping someone would
allay my fears and tell me "No, stupid, you need some sulfuric acid!" or something else along those lines.
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