1. Isopentyl acetate was synthesized via an acid-catalyzed Fischer esterification of isopentyl alcohol and acetic acid. Sulfuric acid was used as the catalyst.
2. The reaction products were extracted with ether and the ether layer was dried over sodium sulfate. Distillation was then used to purify the product.
3. IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography, and comparison to an authentic isopentyl acetate sample were used to identify the final product as isopentyl acetate. The IR spectrum and GC results matched those of the