Q 12.15 Describe the following.
(ii) Cannizzaro reaction
Cannizzaro reaction-
Aldehyde which do not have any alpha- hydrogen, undergo self oxidation as well as reduction reaction on treating with concentrated alkalies. In this reaction, one molecule gets reduced and other is oxidised to carboxylic acid salt.
The Cannizzaro reaction is a chemical reaction where two molecules of a non-enolizable aldehyde are disproportionated to form a primary alcohol and a carboxylic acid. The reaction is named after Stanislao Cannizzaro, the Italian chemist who discovered it in 1853.