, Cannizzaro Reaction
The Cannizzaro reaction involves the treatment of an aldehyde
(without alpha-hydrogens) with concentrated NaOH or KOH.
Aldehydes when heated with NaOH, undergo a disproportion
reaction. One half of aldehyde molecules are oxidized to a
carboxylic acid and one half to an alcohol. The Cannizzaro
reaction, named after its discoverer Stanislao Cannizzaro.
,Mechanism
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Step-1: Attack of OH on the carbonyl carbon
, Step-2: Hydride-ion transfer