Ethyl ester in the form of acid and base
ethyl ester, when it encounters alkali or acid, it becomes different. When it comes to alkali, the hydroxide in the base is nucleophilic and attacks the ethyl ester carbonyl carbon, and the ester bond is broken. Alcohol and carboxylate. In this process, the base is the catalyst, and also participates in the reaction, so that the equilibrium shifts to the direction of hydrolysis. If sodium hydroxide and ethyl ester are combined, ethanol and sodium acetate are obtained, and the formula is: $CH_3COOC_2H_5 + NaOH\ longrightarrow CH_3COONa + C_2H_5OH $.

When encountering acid, the protons in the acid first protonate the ethyl carbonyl oxide, which increases the positive electricity of the carbonyl carbon. In this case, the acid is only a catalyst, and the reaction can be restored after the reaction. For example, under the catalysis of sulfuric acid, ethyl ester is hydrolyzed to obtain ethanol and acetic acid, and the formula is: $CH_3COOC_2H_5 + H_2O\ stackrel {H ^ +} {\ rightleftharpoons} CH_3COOH + C_2H_5OH $.

In summary, ethyl ester is easily and completely hydrolyzed in alkali, and hydrolyzed in acid is reversible. The mechanisms and products of the two are different, and those used should be clear.