How do acetone, and propionaldehyde differ?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 15, 2018

Between #"propanone"#, and #"propionaldehyde"#...well they both have a formula of #C_3H_6O#...

Explanation:

Both formulae have the one degree of unsaturation... Propanone, more commonly termed acetone, has an internal carbonyl function, i.e. #H_3C-C(=O)CH_3#, whereas the aldehyde has a terminal carbonyl function, i.e. #H_3C-CH_2C(=O)H#.

The aldehyde is MUCH more reactive in nucleophilic substitution reactions in that the carbonyl function is less sterically hindered.

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