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Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Synthesis of Esters Via a Greener Steglich Esterification in Acetonitrile
Published on: October 30, 2018
Enzymatic synthesis of phenethyl ester from phenethyl alcohol with acyl donors
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Kwangwoon University, 20 Kwangwoon-Ro, Nowon-Gu, Seoul, 01897, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Phenethyl ester is an important contributors to food, drinks, cosmetics and perfumery. Phenethyl acetate was synthesized enzymatically from phenethyl alcohol with acyl donors catalyzed by Novozym 435 from Candida antarctica lipase B. Through acyl donor screening, acetic anhydride and vinyl acetate were found to be the optimal acyl donors for the reaction. The effects of the molar ratio, temperature and solvents were investigated. The maximum conversion of phenethyl acetate were 99.12%, and 98.44%, using acetic anhydride and vinyl acetate as the acyl donors, respectively. After 20 reuses, the respective conversion of phenethyl acetate were 97.62% and 96.52%. This study may contribute to environment-friendly synthesis of phenethyl ester based on optimal conditions, and enzyme reusability for high conversion of phenethyl acetate.
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Ethers from Alcohols: Alcohol Dehydration and Williamson Ether Synthesis
Ethers can be prepared from organic compounds by various methods. Some of them are discussed below,
Preparation of Ethers by Alcohol Dehydration
In this method, in the presence of protic acids, alcohol dehydrates to produce alkenes and ethers under different conditions. For example, in the presence of sulphuric acid, dehydration of ethanol at 413 K yields ethoxyethane, whereas it yields ethene at 443 K.

