Methyl ethanoate, molecular structure

The nomenclature of esters is relatively simple, because it is similar to the nomenclature of salts. For instance, the ester obtained from methanol and ethanoic acid (acetic acid) is called methyl ethanoate (methyl acetate). Esters are compounds that comprise a large number of structures depending on what the alcohol and acid components are. Esters with a small molecular mass are volatile substances, in most cases with a pleasant odor. For instance, butyl acetate is responsible for the odor of apples. In nature, some esters serve as pheromones for insects, for example isoamyl acetate which attracts butterflies. Other kinds of esters can be large molecules as for instanee waxes and fats where both the alcohol and the acid components can be long-ehained or eomplicated structures. These natural esters will be diseussed in the ehapter on lipids. In industry, esters are used in the fabrication of polymeric fibers for textile materials and plastic materials for various uses. The most common material is polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the ester prepared from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol. 

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