INTRODUCTION TO ESTERS AND THEIR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

An ester is an organic compound where the hydrogen in the compound's carboxyl group is replaced with a hydrocarbon group. Esters are derived from carboxylic acids and (usually) an alcohol. While carboxylic acid has the -COOH group, the hydrogen is replaced by a hydrocarbon in an ester. The chemical formula of an ester takes the form RCO2R′, where R is the hydrocarbon parts of the carboxylic acid, and R′ is the alcohol.