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In this organic chemistry topic, we shall see how alcohols (R-OH) add to carbonyl groups. Carbonyl groups are characterized by a carbon-oxygen double bond. The two main functional groups that consist of this carbon-oxygen double bond are Aldehydes and Ketones.
Alcohols add reversibly to aldehydes and ketones to form hemiacetals or hemiketals (hemi, Greek, half). This reaction can continue by adding another alcohol to form an acetal or ketal. These are important functional groups because they appear in sugars. To achieve effective hemiacetal or acetal formation, two additional features must be ...
In a similar reaction alcohols add reversibly to aldehydes and ketones to form hemiacetals (h emi, Greek, half). This reaction can continue by adding another alcohol to form an acetal. Hemiacetals and acetals are important functional groups because they appear in sugars.
On paper, NaBH 4 and LiAlH 4 are equally effective in performing the reduction of an aldehyde or ketone to an alcohol. In practice, LiAlH 4 is a much stronger reductant that will also reduce esters and carboxylic acids to alcohols.
An aldehyde is involved as an intermediate in the KMnO 4 reaction but can’t usually be isolated because it is further oxidized too rapidly. All these oxidations occur by a mechanism that is closely related to the E2 reaction (Section 11.8).
Oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes (and then carboxylic acids); oxidation of secondary alcohols to ketones.
Aldehydes and ketones can be starting materials for a range of other functional groups. We will be learning about the nomenclature and reactions of aldehydes and ketones, including how to use acetals as protecting groups.