Esters, carboxylic acid nomenclature

This chapter concerns the preparation and reactions of acyl chlorides acid anhydrides thioesters esters amides and nitriles These com pounds are generally classified as carboxylic acid derivatives and their nomenclature is based on that of carboxylic acids... 

Azabicyclo[4.2.l]nona-2,4-diene-9-carboxylic acid, 7-0X0-ethyl ester synthesis, 7, 524 Azabi cyclononadienones synthesis, 7, 524 1 -Azabi cyclo[5.2.0]nonane nomenclature, 7, 342... 

In Chapter 9 you see the basic structure of each of the carboxylic acids and Ccirboxylic acid derivatives. In this chapter we focus on the carboxylic acids and related compounds, such as esters, acyl chlorides, and acid anhydrides, and we also include some information on amides (see Chapter 13 for an additional examination of cimides). Before you can get into synthesis and reactions, though, you need to understand the structure and nomenclature of these compounds. 

The nomenclature of carboxylic acids and their derivatives was discussed in Section 7-6. Many carboxylic acids have trivial names and often are referred to as fatty acids. This term applies best to the naturally occurring straight-chain saturated and unsaturated aliphatic acids, which, as esters, are constituents of the fats, waxes, and oils of plants and animals. The most abundant of these fatty acids are palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids. 

The IUPAC rules name esters as alkyl alkanoates. That is, the portion of the ester derived from the alcohol is named as an alkyl group. The portion of the ester that is derived from the carboxylic acid is named as the conjugate base of that acid. It is easy to distinguish these parts. The half derived from the carboxylic acid has the carbonyl group. Pentyl ethanoate, or pentyl acetate, is one ester used as artificial banana flavoring. Figure 11.51 shows three ester nomenclature examples. 

The nomenclature of esters is similar to the nomenclature of the carboxylic acid salts. The alkyl group bonded to the oxygen atom is named first, then the -ic acid ending of the corresponding carboxylic acid is changed to -oate. 

We study the structure, nomenclature, and reactions of esters in detail in Chapter 14. In the present chapter, we discuss only their preparation from carboxylic acids. 

The structure and nomenclature of sulfonate esters (see 113, 114, or 115) are described in Chapter 20 (Section 20.11.2). It is also true that sulfonate esters are good leaving groups in the substitution reactions described in this chapter (see Section 11.2.4). Sulfonate esters are prepared by the reaction of sulfonic acids with alcohols—much the way that carboxylic acid esters are prepared from carboxylic acids and alcohols (described in Chapter 20, Section 20.11.2). More commonly, sulfonate esters are prepared by the reaction of a sulfonyl chloride (see 112) with an alcohol. This reaction is also described in Chapter 20. This section presents only a simple preview of that chemistry, with the goal of showing that it is easy to convert alcohols into sulfonate esters, which are then useful as leaving groups in substitution reactions. The formal mechanism of these reactions will be discussed in Chapter 20. 

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