Spectroscopy
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How do you distinguish aldehydes from ketones by comparing their infrared spectra?
260109
Corrie writes .....
The absorption due to the C=O group in simple aldehydes and ketones occurs in regions of the i.r. spectrum around 1700 cm-1 that are slightly different (RCHO: 1720 - 1740 cm-1. R2CO: 1700 - 1680 cm-1). This can make it difficult to distinguish them with certainty using the C=O absorption.
However, the C-H bond of the aldehyde group does show a characteristic but weak double absorption between 2900 - 2820 and 2775 - 2700 cm-1, which may be used to distinguish an aldehyde from the corresponding ketone.
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updated: 27 January 2009
