On the Environmentally Friendly Synthesis of 2-Hydroxyethyl Furan-5-Carboxylic Acid (MHEF) and bis(2-Hydroxyethyl)...

Malonic ester synthesis is a method to obtain α substituted carboxylic acids from ꞵ-diesters such as diethyl malonate and alkyl halides.

The Fischer esterification reaction was developed by the German chemist Emil Fischer in 1895. It is a condensation reaction between carboxylic acids and alcohols in an acidic medium to give esters and water.

Carboxylic acids react with alcohols to yield esters via an acid-catalyzed condensation reaction called Fischer esterification. This is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction that proceeds via a tetrahedral intermediate, where a water molecule is eliminated as the leaving group.

Hydrolysis of esters under acidic conditions proceeds through a nucleophilic acyl substitution. In the presence of excess water, the reaction proceeds in a reversible manner, forming carboxylic acids and alcohols.
During hydrolysis, the ester is first activated towards nucleophilic attack through the protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the ester carbonyl carbon more electrophilic. In the next step, water acts as a nucleophile and adds to the...

Hydrolysis of acid halides is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which acid halides react with water to give carboxylic acids. The reaction occurs readily and does not require acid or a base catalyst.
As shown below, the mechanism involves a nucleophilic attack by water at the carbonyl carbon to form a tetrahedral intermediate. This is followed by the reformation of the carbon–oxygen π bond along with the departure of a halide ion. A final proton transfer step yields carboxylic...

Esters can be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids under acidic or basic conditions. Base-promoted hydrolysis of esters is a nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction in which esters react with an aqueous base, followed by an acid to give carboxylic acids. This reaction is also known as saponification because it forms the basis for making soaps from fats.
The reaction requires a base in stoichiometric amounts, which participates in the reaction and is not regenerated later. So, the base acts as a...