INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY

EXERCISE # 6

Aldehydes vs. Ketones

Both will have carbonyl peaks (the peak for an aldehyde is usually at higher frequency than that for a ketone), but an aldehyde will also have two peaks for the sp2 C-H. These will be at lower frequency than the sp3 C-H peaks, and should be fairly easy to spot. A possible complication is air-oxidation of the aldehyde to the corresponding carboxylic acid - be on the lookout for an acid O-H peak as an indication of impurity.

The compounds used in this exercise are acetophenone and benzaldehyde. See if you can figure out which one is which.

Compound A

Expand any region:
4000 - 3200 cm-1 3200 - 2700 cm-1 2700 - 2000 cm-1 2000 - 1660 cm-1 1656 - 1400 cm-1 1400 - 900 cm-1 900 - 600 cm-1
Get the molecular formula of this compound. Get the name of this compound. Get the structure of this compound. Go to the IR data tables. Get an unknown. Go back to the IR exercise homepage.

Compound B

Expand any region:
4000 - 3200 cm-1 3200 - 2700 cm-1 2700 - 2000 cm-1 2000 - 1660 cm-1 1660 - 1400 cm-1 1400 - 900 cm-1 900 - 600 cm-1
Get the molecular formula of this compound. Get the name of this compound. Get the structure of this compound. Go to the IR data tables. Get an unknown. Go back to the IR exercise homepage.