Ethers are very important to both the disciplines of organic chemistry as well as biochemistry. One of the most popular types of ether is dimethyl ether. Now we will look at the categorization of ethers.

Categorization of Ethers

When we come to the topic of the classification of ethers, ethers can be grouped into two categories. One category is Simple Ether. A Simple Ether is one in which the alkyl or aryl groups attached on both the sides of a particular Ether are both the same. On the other hand, the other category in which the Ethers are grouped is Mixed Ether. In a Mixed Ether, what happens is that the alkyl or aryl groups attached on both sides of that Ether Group are both different. 

Ethers can also be categorized on the basis of the alkyl or aryl groups attached to the ether. If the group attached to the ether is of the configuration ROR, then the ether is symmetrical. Now, if the configuration of the group attached to the Ether is ROR’, then the ether may be referred to as an unsymmetrical ether.

Now we will move on to the main topic of the nomenclature of ethers.

Nomenclature of Ethers

In this topic, we will try to discuss the nomenclature of ethers in a very detailed way. 

Before we move on to the topic, I would like to discuss nomenclature with you. The best way to describe nomenclature is to say that, Nomenclature is the process of giving a name to an entity. In the case of this chapter, Nomenclature means the process of assigning names to ethers. 

First, we consider the two alkyl or aryl groups attached to the oxygen atom. Then we append the word ‘ether’ to the names of the alkyl or aryl groups attached to the oxygen atom. It is a known fact that the names of the alkyl groups are considered in alphabetical order.

Now we will consider another scenario, in Ether, if an alkyl or an aryl group appears only once, this means that the Ether consists of two similar groups. 

Now we will see how ether is named in accordance with the IUPAC naming conventions.

IUPAC is the abbreviation for International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC serves as a sort of a regulatory body that also is credited with providing the nomenclature of chemical elements.

For the root name of the Ether, IUPAC uses a very typical name. What that means is that IUPAC names the Ether as “alkoxy” followed by the “alkane”. An example of the IUPAC Nomenclature for Ethers includes Methoxy Ethane. 

Now we shall see certain rules on how to name Ether in accordance with the IUPAC naming conventions.

(NOTE: In place of naming conventions, you can also use Nomenclature. Both terms are used reversibly during the course of this chapter.)

IUPAC Nomenclature

The first rule includes selecting the base chain and giving it a name. For doing just that, we have to select the base chain first. For selecting the base chain, we have to select the carbon chain which has the most carbon atoms. We can also say that, select the longest carbon chain. Now, we have to give that base chain a name.

The second rule involves changing the name of a hydrocarbon group. IUPAC says that, if the name of a hydrocarbon group ends in ‘yl’, that name has to be changed. Change the name of a hydrocarbon group that ends in ‘yl’ to a name that ends in ‘oxy’. So this means that a methyl hydrocarbon group is changed into a methoxy hydrocarbon group.

The third rule states when you get the alkoxy name from the previous rule, attach a locator number to that alkoxy name. When you have paired the alkoxy number and the base locator number, place it in front of the name of the base chain that we selected in the first rule.

Ether Synthesis

Ethers can be produced in lots of different ways. Here we will discuss some of the more common ways of producing Ether.

The ways of synthesizing Ether are:-

1. The first method includes taking alcohol and dehydrating it in the presence of certain acids which gives rise to Ethers. This process is more commonly known as Dehydration of Alcohols.
2. In the second method you take an Alkyl Halide, you process that Alkyl Halide with Sodium Alkoxide, and the end product you get is Ether. This process is more commonly known as Williamson Synthesis.
3. The third involves treating Alkyl Halides with dry Silver Oxide and getting Ether as the end product of the reaction. 

Conclusion

We have discussed the ethers in detail. We have even talked about the two methods of classification for Ether. Then we have discussed in detail the nomenclature of Ether. Here we have seen both, Normal Nomenclature and IUPAC Nomenclature. The first rule of IUPAC nomenclature includes selecting the base chain and giving it a name. Then we finally discussed the synthesis of Ethers. The three most common ways of synthesizing Ether have been listed above.