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Before we can talk about the acidity of α-hydrogens, we really need to know what we mean by an "α-hydrogen".
Greek letters are used to describe the positions adjacent to a functional group. The α-H are those H atoms in the groups immediately adjacent to the carbonyl group. The further positions are termed β, γ etc. |
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Make sure you can identify how many α-hydrogens there are in the following examples of common aldehydes and ketones....
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© Dr. Ian Hunt, Department of Chemistry |  |