Aldehydes: Aldehydes are the organic compounds in which carbonyl group is attached to one hydrogen atom and one alkyl or aryl group.

Where R can be an alkyl or aryl group
Preparation of aldehydes:
a) By oxidation of alcohols: Oxidation of primary alcohols in presence of oxidizing agent like K2Cr2O7/H2SO4, KMnO4,CrO3 gives aldehydes.

b) By dehydrogenation of alcohols: When the vapours of primary alcohol passed through heated copper at 573 K, it forms aldehyde.
c) By hydration of alkynes: Ethyne on hydration with at 333 K forms acetaldehyde.

d) By Rosenmund reduction: Hydrogenation of acyl chloride over palladium on barium sulphate gives aldehyde.
e) By reduction of nitriles:
i) Stephen Reaction: Reduction of nitriles in presence of stannous chloride in presence of HCl gives imine which on hydrolysis gives corresponding aldehyde.

ii) Nitriles are selectively reduced by DIBAL-H (Diisobutylaluminium hydride) to aldehydes.

f) By reduction of ester: Esters are reduced to aldehydes in presence of DIBAL-H (Diisobutylaluminium hydride)
g) From Hydrocarbons:
(i) By oxidation of methyl benzene: Etard Reaction: Chromyl chloride oxidizes methyl group to a chromium complex, which on hydrolysis gives corresponding benzaldehyde.

Using chromium oxide: Toluene or substituted toluene is converted to benzaldehyde in presence of chromic oxide in acetic anhydride.

(ii) By side chain chlorination followed by hydrolysis:Halogenation of toluene: Side chain halogenation of toluene gives benzal chloride which on hydrolysis gives Benzaldehyde.
(iii) Gatterman –Koch reaction: Benzene or its derivatives on treatment with carbon monoxide and HCl in presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride or cuprous chloride (CuCl) gives benzaldehyde or substituted benzaldehydes.





e) From nitriles: Nitriles on treatment with Grignard reagent followed by hydrolysis give ketones.

f) By Friedel Crafts acylation reaction: Benzene or substituted benzene on treatment with acid chloride in presence of anhydrous aluminium chloride forms ketone.

g) Preparation of aldehydes and ketones by ozonolysis of alkenes:

(a) Addition of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) to form cyanohydrins

(b) Addition of sodium hydrogensulphiteto form bisulphate addition compound

(c) Addition of Grignard reagent (RMgX) to form alcohol

(d) Addition of alcohol:
(i) Aldehydes on addition of monohydric alcohol in presence of dry HCl forms hemiacetal and acetal.

(ii) Ketones do not react with monohydric alcohols. Ketones react with ethylene glycol under similar conditions to form cyclic products known as ethylene glycol ketals.

(e) Addition of ammonia and its derivatives:

(a) Reduction to alcohols:
Aldehydes and ketones on catalytic hydrogenation in presence of Ni, Pt or Pd by using lithium aluminium hydride or sodium borohydride
forms primary and secondary alcohols respectively.
(b) Reduction to hydrocarbons:
(i) Clemmensen reduction: Carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones is reduced to group on treatment with zinc amalgam and concentrated hydrochloric acid.
(ii) Wolff-Kishner reduction: Carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones is reduced to group on treatment with hydrazine followed by heating with sodium or potassium hydroxide in high boiling solvent such as ethylene glycol.
(iii)
(i) Aldehydes are oxidized to acids in presence of mild oxidising agents HNO3, K2Cr2O7, KMnO4.
(ii) Ketones are oxidized under drastic conditions i.e. with powerful oxidising agents like at higher temperature.

In case of unsymmetrical ketones cleavage occurs in such a way that keto group stays with smaller alkyl group. This is known as Popoff’s rule.
(iii)Haloform reaction: Aldehydes and ketones having at least one methyl group linked to the carbonyl carbon atom i.e. methyl ketones are oxidised by sodium hypohalite to sodium salts of corresponding carboxylic acids having one carbon atom less than that of carbonyl compound. The methyl group is converted to haloform.

(i) Aldol condensation: Aldehydes and ketones having at least one -hydrogen undergo a self condensation in the presence of dilute alkali as catalyst to form -hydroxy aldehydes (aldol) or -hydroxy ketones (ketol), respectively.


(ii) Cross aldol condensation: Aldol condensation between two different aldehydes and ketones is called aldol condensation. If both of them contain -hydrogen atoms, it gives a mixture of four products.



(i) From alcohols: Primary alcohols are readily oxidised to carboxylic acids with common oxidising agents such as potassium permanganate in neutral, acidic or alkaline media or by potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) and chromium trioxide
in acidic media.
a)
b)
(ii) From aldehydes: Oxidation of aldehydes in presence of mild oxidizing agents like Tollen’s reagent (ammoniacal solution of ) or Fehling reagent (Fehling solution A (aqueous solution of
) + Fehling solution B (aqueous solution of sodium potassium tartarate)) forms carboxylic acids.
(iii) From alkylbenzenes: Aromatic carboxylic acids can be prepared by vigorous oxidation of alkyl benzenes with chromic acid or acidic or alkaline potassium permanganate.

(iv) From alkenes: Suitably substituted alkenes are oxidised to carboxylic acids on oxidation with acidic potassium permanganate or acidic potassium dichromate.
(v) From Nitriles: Nitriles on hydrolysis in presence of dilute acids or bases forms amide which on further hydrolysis gives carboxylic acid.

(vi) From Grignard reagent: Grignard reagents react with carbon dioxide (dry ice) to form salts of carboxylic acids which on hydrolysis forms carboxylic acids.

(vii) From acyl halides and anhydrides: Acid chlorides when hydrolysed with water give carboxylic acids .On basic hydrolysis carboxylate ions are formed which on further acidification forms corresponding carboxylic acids. Anhydrides on hydrolysis forms corresponding acid(s)

(viii) From esters: Acidic hydrolysis of esters gives directly carboxylic acids while basic hydrolysis gives carboxylates, which on acidification give corresponding carboxylic acids.
(i) Solubility: As the size of alky group increases solubility of carboxylic acid decreases because non-polar part of the acid increases
(ii) Boiling points: Carboxylic acids are higher boiling liquids than aldehydes, ketones and even alcohols of comparable molecular masses. This is due to extensive association of carboxylic acid molecules through intermolecular hydrogen bonding.

Carboxylic acids are more acidic than phenols. The strength of acid depends on extent of ionization which in turn depends on stability of anion formed.
(i) Effect of electron donating substituents on the acidity of carboxylic acids: Electron donating substituent decreases stability of carboxylate ion by intensifying the negative charge and hence decreases acidity of carboxylic acids.
(ii) Effect of electron withdrawing substituent on the acidity of carboxylic acids: Electron withdrawing group increases the stability of carboxylate ion by delocalizing negative charge and hence, increases acidity of carboxylic acid. The effect of the following groups in increasing acidity order is Ph< I < Br <cl< f=””>2 < CF3</cl<>
(a) Effect of number of electron withdrawing groups: As the number of electron withdrawing groups increases –I effect increases, increasing the acid strength
(b) Effect of position of electron withdrawing group: As the distance between electron withdrawing group and carboxylic group increases, electron withdrawing influence decreases.
Reactions involving cleavage of C-OH bond:
Carboxylic acids on heating with mineral acids such as or with
give corresponding anhydride.
(i) Anhydride formation:

(ii) Esterification: Carboxylic acids are esterified with alcohols in the presence of a mineral acid such as concentrated or HCl gas as a catalyst.

(iii) Carboxylic acids react with PCl5, PCl3 and SOCl2 to form acyl chlorides.
(iv) Reaction with ammonia (NH3): Carboxylic acids react with ammonia to give ammonium salt which on further heating at high temperature gives amides.
i)
ii)
Reactions involving COOH group:
(i) Reduction: Carboxylic acids are reduced to alcohols in presence of LiAlH4 or B2H6.
(ii) Decarboxylation : Sodium or potassium salts of carboxylic acids on heating with soda lime (NaOH + CaO in ratio of 3:1) gives hydrocarbons which contain one carbon less than the parent acid.
(c) Reactions involving substitution reaction in hydrocarbon part:
(i) Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky reaction: Carboxylic acids having an -hydrogen are halogenated at the -position on treatment with chlorine or bromine in the presence of small amount of red phosphorus to give -halocarboxylic acids)

(ii) Ring substitution in aromatic acids: Aromatic carboxylic acids undergo electrophilic substitution reactions. Carboxyl group in benzoic acid is electron withdrawing group and is meta directing.
i)
ii)