Ester Naming Conventions

[Teywer]

A quick question from a chemistry student:
I need to know the convention for naming esters formed from a carboxylic acid and a secondary or tertiary alcohol.
This would result in a side chain on the side chain attached to the oxygen atom.

Roughly, this would take the form R-COO-CH(R)-R where R is a carbon chain.

[p1t1o]

If you make an ester from ethanoic acid and propanol, you get ethyl propanoate.

If your alcohol is secondary, like say, Propan-2-ol, it would form Ethyl Propan-2-oate, simples.

[Teywer]

Thanks for that, with any luck it will be on the exam!

[chenille]

If you make an ester from ethanoic acid and propanol, you get ethyl propanoate.

No, that would be from ethanol and propanoic acid, since the -ate is always from the acid just as if you were naming a salt. So your combination would give you propyl ethanoate (or propyl acetate), and likewise propan-2-ol would give you propan-2-yl ethanoate (or isopropyl acetate).

[p1t1o]

If you make an ester from ethanoic acid and propanol, you get ethyl propanoate.

No, that would be from ethanol and propanoic acid, since the -ate is always from the acid just as if you were naming a salt. So your combination would give you propyl ethanoate (or propyl acetate), and likewise propan-2-ol would give you propan-2-yl ethanoate (or isopropyl acetate).

You are correct of course, I wrote it down incorrectly. NUTS.