1910–1911
Britannica 11th
Encyclopaedia Britannica · 11th edition
ETHERS, in organic chemistry, compounds of the general formula R-O-R', where R, R' = alkyl or aryl groups. They may be regarded as the anhydrides of the alcohols, being formed by elimination of one molecule of water from two molecules of the alcohols; those in which the two hydrocarbon radicals are similar are known as simple ethers, and those in which they are dissimilar as mixed ethers. They may be prepared by the action of concentrated sulphuric acid on the alcohols, alkyl sulphuric acids being first formed, whi…
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- Vol. 9, pp. 808-808