Question

Draw the structures of two esters that will be reduced to propanol and butanol by ${\mathbf{LiAlH}}_4$(followed by addition of aqueous acid).

Short answer

The answer is,

The ester that will give butanol is,

The ester that will give propanol is,

Step-by-step solution

Step-by-Step Solution Step 1: Ester

The esters are compounds containing RCOOR’ functional group. They are important carbonyl compounds that can be derived using corresponding alcohols and carboxylic acids. The esters can undergo nucleophilic addition reactions to give the alcohols and acids back.

Explanation

The structure of two esters that will be reduced to propanol and butanol by lithium Aluminium hydride is given below.

Butyl butanoate Butanoic acid Butanol

Propyl butanoate Butanoic acid Propanol

The butyl butanoate undergoes reduction reaction using Lithium Aluminium hydride followed by hydrolysis to give butanoic acid and butanol.

The propyl butanoate undergoes reduction using Lithium Aluminium hydride followed by hydrolysis to give butanoic acid and propanol.