Reaction Summary
Reagents
- Dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide,
Conditions
- Room temperature
Catalyst
acts as a base catalyst
Chemical Equation
Equation
By-Products
- None
Observations
Observations
- No visible change (colourless liquid/solution throughout)
⚠️ 9701 Exam Notes / Pitfalls
Warning
- This is the aldol reaction (product: 3-hydroxybutanal, ‘aldol’). Not on the core syllabus — appears in Paper 4 as an unfamiliar reaction where you deduce the product.
removes an H from the carbon next to C=O; the resulting carbanion attacks the carbonyl carbon of a second molecule. A new C–C bond forms, extending the chain. - On heating, the product can dehydrate to an unsaturated aldehyde (but-2-enal) — ‘aldol condensation’.