A reaction in which two molecules of aldehyde combine to give an aldol – i.e. a compound containing both aldehyde and alcohol functional groups. The reaction is base-catalyzed; the reaction of ethanal refluxed with sodium hydroxide gives: 2CH3CHO → CH3CH(OH)CH2CHO The mechanism is similar to that of the Claisen condensation: the first step is removal
A member of a class of organic compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They can be considered as hydroxyl derivatives of hydrocarbons produced by the replacement of one or more hydrogens by one or more hydroxyl (R-OH) groups. Classification. Alcohols may be mono-, di-, tri-, or polyhydric, depending upon the number of hydroxyl groups