Ethyl propionate is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with formula C₂H₅O₂CCH₂CH₃. It is the ethyl

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

propionic acid Propionic acid (, from the Greek language, Greek words πρῶτος : ''prōtos'', meaning "first", and πίων : ''píōn'', meaning "fat"; also known as propanoic acid) is a naturally occurring carboxylic acid with chemical formula . It is a ...

. It is a colorless volatile liquid with a pineapple-like odor. Some fruits such as kiwis and strawberries contain ethyl propionate in small amounts.

Uses and reactions

It is also used in the production of some antimalarial drugs including

pyrimethamine Pyrimethamine, sold under the brand name Daraprim among others, is a medication used with leucovorin (leucovorin is used to decrease side effects of pyrimethamine; it does not have intrinsic anti-parasitic activity) to treat the parasitic disea ...

. Ethyl propionate can be synthesized by the

Fischer esterification Fischer is a German occupational surname, meaning fisherman. The name Fischer is the fourth most common German surname. The English version is Fisher. People with the surname A * Abraham Fischer (1850–1913) South African public official * ...

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

and

: :CH₃CH₂OH + CH₃CH₂CO₂H → CH₃CH₂O₂CCH₂CH₃ + H₂O It participates in condensation reactions by virtue of the weakly acidic methylene group.

References

{{Esters Propionate esters Ethyl esters Flavors

Uses and reactions

See also

References