Aldol Condensation: The End Product
Aldol condensation, a key reaction in organic chemistry, results in the formation of a carbon-carbon bond. It is used to create ?,?-unsaturated ketones or aldehydes. The process involves two steps. It usually involves the combination two molecules such as aldehydes and ketones to make a single molecular (Houben-Weyl 2020). An ?,?-unsaturated ketone or aldehyde is the product of aldol condensing. This depends on what starting materials are used. First, an aldol condensate is formed. This is a resonance-stabilized anion. The first step of aldol condensation is the formation of an enolate, which is a resonance-stabilized anion. This happens by deprotonating one of the start aldehydes/ketones. Second, the nucleophilic addition (Houben-Weyl 2020) of the enolate or ketone to another aldehyde/ketone results in the?–hydroxy-aldehyde/?-hydroxy-ketone products. There are many uses for the product of aldol condensing.