maskman` 1 Posted February 17, 2013 i attempted this question believing that is was naoh and na(s) had the same properties and would react simliarly to the ester. i was found to be wrong. why? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fuzzwood 167 Posted February 17, 2013 What properties are you referring to? Hydroxide is a nucleophyle, sodium is an electron donor. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hypervalent_iodine 1360 Posted February 17, 2013 Well, the first question is what do you think Na and NaOH do to an ester? 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maskman` 1 Posted February 18, 2013 Well, the first question is what do you think Na and NaOH do to an ester? well, naoh i believe reacts to form alcohol and ch3ch2oNa with reacted with an ester. the alcohol comes from the ethyl part of the ester 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hypervalent_iodine 1360 Posted February 18, 2013 And what do you think Na metal does? Also, small point of contention, it's really bugging me that you don't write the elemental symbols with their appropriate capital letters. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ringer 362 Posted February 19, 2013 I thought you could get a radical reaction using Na in EtOH. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hypervalent_iodine 1360 Posted February 19, 2013 You can. They both react with esters, but the products will be different. 0 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites