Step 1: A saturated aliphatic ester absorbs near 1740 cm-1 for C=O stretch.
Step 2: Phenyl acetate has its ester oxygen attached to a phenyl ring.
Step 3: The ring competes for the oxygen lone pair, leaving less donation into the carbonyl.
Step 4: Reduced donation means more true double bond character, higher force constant, higher frequency.
Step 5: This shifts the band up to about 1800 cm-1.
\[\boxed{1800\ \text{cm}^{-1}}\]