Aldehydes reactions, nucleophilic addition

As with other reversible nucleophilic addition reactions the equilibria for aldol additions are less favorable for ketones than for aldehydes For example only 2% of the aldol addition product of acetone is present at equilibrium... 

Nucleophilic Addition Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones (Chapter 19)... 

The most common reaction of aldehydes and ketones is the nucleophilic addition reaction, in which a nucleophile, Nu , adds to the electrophilic carbon of the carbonyl group. Since the nucleophile uses an electron pair to form a new bond to carbon, two electrons from the carbon-oxygen double bond must move toward the electronegative oxygen atom to give an alkoxide anion. The carbonyl carbon rehybridizes from sp2 to sp3 during the reaction, and the alkoxide ion product therefore has tetrahedral geometry. 

The second fundamental reaction of carbonyl compounds, nucleophilic acyl substitution, is related to the nucleophilic addition reaction just discussed but occurs only with carboxylic acid derivatives rather than with aldehydes and ketones. When the carbonyl group of a carboxylic acid derivative reacts with a nucleophile, addition occurs in the usual way, but the initially formed tetra-... 

CHAPTER 19 Aldehydes and Ketones Nucleophilic Addition Reactions... 

As we saw in A Preview of Carbonyl Compounds, the most general reaction of aldehydes and ketones is the nucleophilic addition reaction. A nucleophile, Nu-, approaches along the C=0 bond from an angle of about 75° to the plane of the carbonyl group and adds to the electrophilic C=0 carbon atom. At the same time, rehybridization of the carbonyl carbon from sp2 to sp3 occurs, an electron pair from the C=0 bond moves toward the electronegative oxygen atom, and a tetrahedral alkoxide ion intermediate is produced (Figure 19.1). 

A nucleophilic addition reaction to an aldehyde or ketone. The nucleophile approaches the carbonyl group from an angle of approximately 75° to the plane of the sp2 orbitals, the carbonyl carbon rehybridizes from sp2 to sp3, and an alkoxide ion is formed. 

Aldehydes are generally more reactive than ketones in nucleophilic addition reactions for both steric and electronic reasons. Sterically, the presence of only one large substituent bonded to the C=0 carbon in an aldehyde versus two large substituents in a ketone means that a nucleophile is able to approach an aldehyde more readily. Thus, the transition state leadingto the tetrahedral intermediate is less crowded and lower in energy for an aldehyde than for a ketone (Figure 19.3). 

One further comparison aromatic aldehydes, such as benzaldehyde, are less reactive in nucleophilic addition reactions than aliphatic aldehydes because the electron-donating resonance effect of the aromatic ring makes the carbonyl group less electrophilic. Comparing electrostatic potential maps of formaldehyde and benzaldehyde, for example, shows that the carbonyl carbon atom is less positive (less blue) in the aromatic aldehyde. 

Aldehydes and unhindered ketones undergo a nucleophilic addition reaction with HCN to yield cyanohydrins, RCH(OH)C=N. Studies carried out in the early 1900s by Arthur Eapworth showed that cyanohydrin formation is reversible and base-catalyzed. Reaction occurs slowly when pure HCN is used but rapidly when a small amount of base is added to generate the nucleophilic cyanide ion, CN. Alternatively, a small amount of KCN can be added to HCN to catalyze the reaction. Addition of CN- takes place by a typical nucleophilic addition pathway, yielding a tetrahedral intermediate that is protonated by HCN to give cyanohydrin product plus regenerated CN-. 

Acetal and hemiacetal groups are particularly common in carbohydrate chemistry. Glucose, for instance, is a polyhydroxy aldehyde that undergoes an internal nucleophilic addition reaction and exists primarily as a cyclic hemiacetal. 

As a general rule, nucleophilic addition reactions are characteristic only of aldehydes and ketones, not of carboxylic acid derivatives. The reason for the difference is structural. As discussed previously in A Preview of Carbonyl Compounds and shown in Figure 19.14, the tetrahedral intermediate produced by addition of a nucleophile to a carboxylic acid derivative can eliminate a leaving group, leading to a net nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction. The tetrahedral intermediate... 

Nucleophilic addition reactions of aldehydes and ketones (a) Addition of hydride alcohols (Section 19.7)... 

Each of the following substances can be prepared by a nucleophilic addition reaction between an aldehyde or ketone and a nucleophile. Identify the reactants from which each was prepared. If the substance is an acetal, identify the carbonyl compound and the alcohol if it is an imine, identify the carbonyl compound and the amine and so forth. 

The following molecular model represents a tetrahedral intermediate resulting from addition of a nucleoph ile to an aldehyde or ketone. Identify the reactants, and write the structure of the final product when the nucleophilic addition reaction is complete. 

The enolate ion attacks a second aldehyde molecule in a nucleophilic addition reaction to give a tetrahedral alkoxide ion intermediate. 

Glycolysis is a ten-step process that begins with isomerization of glucose from its cyclic hemiacetal form to its open-chain aldehyde form—a reverse nucleophilic addition reaction. The aldehyde then undergoes tautomerixa-tion to yield an enol, which undergoes yet another tautomerization to give the ketone fructose. 

We said in Section 19.10 that aldehydes and ketones undergo a rapid and reversible nucleophilic addition reaction with alcohols to form hemiacetals. 

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