Carbonyl compounds alpha cleavage

The polar properties of the alpha-C-H bonds and their reactivity towards hydrogen atom abstraction in acetals are enhanced by the presence of two ether groups. These hydrogens are susceptible to abstraction by excited carbonyl compounds (77). Cleavage of C—0 bonds in acetals occurs readily when an acetal radical is formed (38) even at room temperature. It has been shown that irradiation of cyclic acetals of aldehydes at room temperature in the presence of acetone leads to the appropriate carboxylic esters (22),... 

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