Ethyl acetate reacts with sulfuric acid
Ethyl acetate is an organic compound with a fruity odor. Sulfuric acid, a common inorganic strong acid. When the two meet, what is the reaction?

When ethyl acetate coexists with sulfuric acid, sulfuric acid often acts as a catalyst to accelerate the hydrolysis of ethyl acetate. This hydrolysis process can be regarded as a chemical reaction between ethyl acetate and water catalyzed by sulfuric acid.

At the beginning of the reaction, hydrogen ions ionized by sulfuric acid attack the carbonyl carbon atom of the ester group in ethyl acetate. Carbonyl has a certain positive electricity and is vulnerable to attack by electrophilic reagents. Hydrogen ions combine with carbonyl oxygen atoms to enhance the positive electricity of carbonyl carbon atoms.

Subsequently, water molecules act as nucleophiles to attack carbonyl carbon atoms, forming an intermediate. The intermediate is unstable and will undergo further changes.

Eventually, the intermediate decomposes to form acetic acid and ethanol. Before and after the reaction, the chemical properties and quality of sulfuric acid are basically unchanged, and only play a catalytic role to accelerate the reaction process.

Its chemical reaction equation is roughly: $CH_3COOC_2H_5 + H_2O\ stackrel {H_2SO_4} {\ rightleftharpoons} CH_3COOH + C_2H_5OH $. It should be noted that this reaction is a reversible reaction, and the reaction will reach a chemical equilibrium state to a certain extent.

This reaction is widely used in the chemical industry. For example, it can be used to prepare acetic acid and ethanol from ethyl acetate, and it is also helpful to deeply understand the chemical properties and reaction mechanism of ester compounds, providing theoretical basis and practical guidance for organic synthesis and other fields.