Ethyl acetate is a common organic compound, and its intermolecular forces play a key role in its physicochemical properties.

Intermolecular forces mainly include London Dispersion Forces, Dipole-Dipole Forces, and Hydrogen Bonds. In ethyl acetate molecules, dispersion forces are widely present due to their structural characteristics. This is because the electron clouds in the molecule instantaneously generate asymmetric distribution, which triggers instantaneous dipoles, through which adjacent molecules interact to form dispersion forces. This force exists between all molecules and increases with the increase of molecular mass and electron number.

At the same time, the ethyl acetate molecule has polarity, and its carbonyl (C = O) part of the oxygen atom has a large electronegativity, so that the positive and negative charge centers of the molecule do not coincide, resulting in a dipole. The dipoles of adjacent ethyl acetate molecules attract each other, forming a dipole-dipole force. This force is stronger than the dispersion force and has a significant impact on the physical properties of ethyl acetate such as boiling point and melting point.

However, there is no typical hydrogen bond between ethyl acetate molecules. Hydrogen bonds usually require hydrogen atoms to be directly connected to atoms with large electronegativity and small radius (such as fluorine, oxygen, nitrogen), and to form a strong interaction with another atom with large electronegativity. In the molecular structure of ethyl acetate, there is no such situation, so the contribution of hydrogen bonds to its intermolecular forces is negligible.

Overall, the intermolecular forces of ethyl acetate are dominated by dispersion forces and dipole-dipole forces, which together determine the state, volatility, solubility and other physicochemical properties of ethyl acetate at room temperature and pressure. For example, the relatively moderate intermolecular forces make ethyl acetate volatile, which is widely used in organic synthesis, coatings, fragrances and other fields.