Question

what is aldol condensation

Answer 1

An aldol condensation is acondensation reaction in organic chemistry in which an enol or an enolate ion reacts with a carbonyl compound to form a β-hydroxyaldehyde or β-hydroxyketone (an aldol reaction), followed by dehydration to give a conjugated enone.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:Any aldehyde or ketone which contain at least one Alpha hydrogen, in the presence of base (Dil.) or acid undergoes condensation reaction and gives beta hydroxy aldehyde or ketone. This condensation reaction is known as aldol condensation. Base may be NaOH, KOH , Ca(OH)2 , RONa e.t.c. this reaction is called the aldol reaction because product of reaction of 2 moles of aldehyde is called aldol (‘ald’ for aldehyde and 'ol' for alcohol).

Mechanism →

Step 1 -> Formation of carbanion

Since COOH is electron withdrawing group, so Alpha hydrogen is acidic. So following reaction takes place.

Step 2-> carbanion as a nucleophile attack on carbonyl carbon of another aldehyde.

Step 3 -> Proton transfer

Step 4 -> In the presence of heat, dehydration takes place