Methyl benzoate is an organic compound. It is an ester with the chemical formula, sometimes abbreviated as, where Ph and Me are phenyl and methyl, respectively. Its structure is . It is a colorless liquid that is poorly soluble in water, but miscible with organic solvents. Methyl benzoate has a pleasant smell, strongly reminiscent of the fruit of the feijoa tree, and it is used in perfumery. It also finds use as a solvent and as a pesticide used to attract insects such as orchid bees.
Methyl benzoate is formed by the condensation of methanol and benzoic acid, in presence of a strong acid.[1] [2]
Methyl benzoate reacts at both the ring and the ester, depending on the substrate. Electrophiles attack the ring, illustrated by acid-catalysed nitration with nitric acid to give methyl 3-nitrobenzoate. Nucleophiles attack the carbonyl center, illustrated by hydrolysis with addition of aqueous NaOH to give methanol and sodium benzoate.
Methyl benzoate can be isolated from the freshwater fern Salvinia molesta.[3] It is one of many compounds that is attractive to males of various species of orchid bees, which apparently gather the chemical to synthesize pheromones; it is commonly used as bait to attract and collect these bees for study.[4]
Cocaine hydrochloride hydrolyzes in moist air to give methyl benzoate;[5] drug-sniffing dogs are thus trained to detect the smell of methyl benzoate.[6]
Non electric Heat cost allocators. See: DIN EN 835.