Many flavorings and perfumes are partially based on fragrant ketones, with far fewer being based on fragrant aldehydes. Why do you think ketones are used more frequently than aldehydes? See Section 15.5 for a clue.

Question

Accepted Answer

All right. Hi, everyone. So this question, is it true or false? More flavorings and perfumes are partially based on aldehydes with far fewer being based on ketones because aldehydes produce a more stable product. Now recall first and foremost, that all the hides in ketones have a very similar structure to them. Both functional groups involve a car bal in which a carbon is double bonded to an oxygen atom. What distinguishes an aldehyde from a key to is what is present on either side of the car bal carbon. On one hand, we have a ketone where there are two R groups or carbon chains on either side of the carbon, carbon, all the hides on the other hand, have at least one hydrogen attached to the car bono carbon. And it is that particular difference that explains the reactivity of these compounds relative to each other. Though it is worth noting here that all the heights and ketones are both known or their abilities to produce an odor. This means that both aldehydes and ketones are found in flavorings and perfumes. But I want to talk about the reactivity that I mentioned a little while ago because I want to specifically draw attention to the fact that there is in the case of an aldehyde, a hydrogen attach it directly to the car bono carbon. And you can distinguish this to remember the two, so to speak by noticing that theres an H in the word aldehyde. So therefore, there's an H in the structure next to the car bono carbon. Now, this hydrogen atom attached to the carbon carbon is very important because this hydrogen is very easily oxidized. If I can spell that right, it is very easily oxidized to go from an aldehyde. Two, a carboxylic acid. So this means that an aldehyde is especially susceptible to oxidation in a way that ketones are simply not because they do not have that hydrogen attached to the carbo carbon. So when an aldehyde undergoes an oxidation and it is converted into a carboxylic acid, whatever properties, especially the odor that are associated with the aldehyde are not going to be present in the carboxylic acid. And when designing anything or attempting to use anything as a flavoring or a perfume, the idea is to have that substance last longer, right? So that that flavor or that scent can last or be present for longer. So all this is to say that because an aldehyde can easily be oxidized into a carboxylic acid, it is more likely or all the hides in general are more likely to lose their characteristic flavor or odor, which means that they are not actually used as often for these purposes because the idea here is to have that flavor or that odor last as long as possible. So the statement provided at the beginning of this question, it is actually false. Ketones are the ones used more often for flavorings and perfumes because they are the ones that are less reactive and therefore are more stable, meaning they last longer and there you have it. So the statement here is false. And with that being said, thank you so very much for watching and I hope you found the South Pole.

Many flavorings and perfumes are partially based on fragrant ketones, with far fewer being based on fragrant aldehydes. Why do you think ketones are used more frequently than aldehydes? See Section 15.5 for a clue.

Verified video answer for a similar problem:

Key Concepts

Chemical Structure of Ketones and Aldehydes

Volatility and Odor Profile

Reactivity and Stability