| 18-00-28UN | | Title | Electrophilicity of Carbonyl Compounds | | Caption | Electrostatic potential maps of formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acetone. | | Notes | A carbonyl carbon is partially positively charged because oxygen is more electronegative than carbon and electrons in the C–O pi bond can be drawn by resonance into an sp3 nonbonding atomic orbital on oxygen, leaving a vacant p orbital on carbon bearing a positive charge. The molecular orbital holding the electrons in the second bond between C and O is a resonance hybrid of a vacant p orbital on carbon next to an occupied sp3 nonbonding orbital on oxygen, and a pi molecular orbital between carbon and oxygen. Carbons attached to the carbonyl carbon alleviate (delocalize) some positive charge on the carbonyl carbon by hyperconjugation but hydrogens attached to the carbonyl carbon cannot do this. Thus, the more hydrogens (and fewer carbons) attached to the carbonyl carbon, the more positive charge on this carbon, and the greater the electrophilicity of the carbonyl compound. Notice that in this figure formaldehyde has more positive charge (blue color) on the carbonyl carbon than acetaldehyde, which in turn has more positive charge than acetone. Formaldehyde is more electrophilic than other aldehydes, which are in turn more electrophilic than ketones. | | Keywords | electrophilicity, carbonyl, compounds, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, potential, maps | |