Give reasons to support the answer:
(A) Presence of Alpha hydrogen in aldehydes and ketones is essential for aldol condensation.
Answer
- The alpha hydrogen atoms are acidic in nature due to the presence of electron withdrawing carbonyl group.
- These can be easily removed by a base and the carbanion formed is resonance stabilised.
- The more stable a product is, the higher the spontaneity of the reaction is- meaning, the reaction is more likely to occur .
Therefore, the presence of Alpha hydrogen in aldehydes and ketones is essential for aldol condensation.
