Basic
Organic Nomenclature
Carboxylic Acid Derivatives - Esters
Suffix: alkyl -oate
Prefix: alkoxycarbonyl- or
carbalkoxy-
The next derivative of carboxylic acids generated by replacing the -OH
of the acid with a -OR group (by reacting the acid with an alcohol). Similar
to acids, amides, and acyl halides, the carbon atom of the ester will be
atom number 1 in the numbering scheme. Since it always occurs at the end(s)
of the chain of carbon atoms, the number is omitted.
-
In naming the ester, the final -e of the alkane is replaced by -oate, and
the alkyl group of the ether oxygen precedes the root name, i.e. an alkyl
alkanoate
-
When the -CO2R group is attached to a ring, the ester is named
as a cycloalkanecarboxylate.
Examples naming simple esters:
Examples naming more complex esters:
|
Compound Name
|
Line Drawing
|
|
butyl 2-hydroxypropanoate
|
|
|
ethyl 3-cyano-5-methylhexanoate
|
|
|
t-butyl 2-ethyl-3-cyclohexenecarboxylate
|
|
Esters as Substituents:
In more complex molecules with higher priority functional groups, the ester
is named as a alkoxycarbonyl- or carbalkoxy-
substituent. It is located by numbering the longest chain of carbons (according
to the higher priority functional group) and locating the -CO2R
group by this numbering scheme.
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