Aldehydes and Ketones Flashcards
chiral centre
A carbon atom that is attached to four different groups or atoms
What do two optical isomers look like?
mirror images of eachother
pair of optical isomers
enantiomers
Reduction reagent
NaBH4
alcohol prefix
hydroxy
What type of mechanism occurs?
nucleophilic addition
Why are aldehydes and ketones readily attacked by nucleophiles?
C=O bond is polar
What is the reduction equation?
Aldehyde/ketone + 2[H] -> alcohol
Why would a reaction produce a racemic mixture?
C=O is planar so there’s equal chance of the nucleophile attacking from above or below. Both enantimors are formed in equal amounts.
How do you distinguish between optical isomers?
They rotate the plane of polarised light in opposite directions
optically active
compound that rotates the plane of polarized light
optically inactive
does not rotate plane polarized light
What’s added to a primary alcohol to produce a carboxylic acid?
2[O]
