Treatment of a carboxylic acid with trifluoroacetic anhydride leads to an unsymmetrical anhydride that rapidly reacts with alcohol to give an ester.
(a) Propose a mechanism for formation of the unsymmetrical anhydride.
(b) Why is the unsymmetrical anhydride unusually reactive?
(c) Why does the unsymmetrical anhydride react as indicated rather than giving a trifluoroacetate ester plus carboxylicacid?
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