Hey guys, I was wondering.. would HCl in anhydrous MeOH give esterification reaction (convert carboxylic acid to ester) or do we require aqueous conditions?
Thanks for any help!
It would but it would compete with the reaction of HCl with methanol to produce methyl chloride and water... which would slow the process of esterification. Usually you use a non-reactive acid, like sulfuric, in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Speier_esterification" [Broken]