is saponification hydrolysis ?? (1 Viewer)

[jamesfirst]

Since there's no water involved in the reaction, I asked my teacher why it's called an hydrolysis.


He just said it's okay to call it an hydrolysis, but an hydrolysis involving a strong basic solution..


Is it okay to call it an hydrolysis in the HSC ?

 

[darkanus]

Saponification is a base catalysed hydrolysis involving the reaction of nucleophilic hydroxyl ions with the carbonyl carbon of esters.
So basically, hydrolysis can be acid or base catalysed. The hydroxyl (OH-) ion, the conjugate base of water, has the same function as water in hydrolysis (which is the cleavage of a bond by water). Normally, an O-H bond would break from the H2O, leading to nucleophilic attack of the carbonyl carbon (the one attached to the double bond), causing the bond to break. So the base catalysed mechanism is practically the same as the reaction with water.
So yes, it is O.K to call saponification a hydrolysis. Just say that its the hydrolysis of an ester.

 

[swizzler]

yes it is