Glyoxal, OHCCHO

The slow, rate-limiting step is almost certainly the migration of phenyl that occurs in the initial eOH adduct (135). This is essentially the analogue for 1,2-diketones of the intramolecular Cannizzaro reaction on the 1,2-dialdehyde glyoxal, OHCCHO (p. 217). In the latter... 

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