Grade 12Organic Chemistry

what is the role of Hg in the clemmensons reduction of carbonyl compounds??????????

Abc

9 Years agoGrade 12

5 Answers

Priyanka Chahal

9 Years ago

Hey! It is not only Hg ..n instead of it is mixture of Hg with metal .. see here with Zn so we call it Zn Amalgham ! And in the Clemmensen, addition of acid protonates the ketone, and electrons from the Zn(Hg) are delivered to the carbon; the new hydrogens come from the acid, while the oxygen is eventually expelled as water.

Abc

9 Years ago

the basic question is why we use Zn amalgam and not Zn only????????????hope you understand my question

Priyanka Chahal

9 Years ago

Plz read the whole answer 😕.. I already give your question`s answer that here Zn(Hg) is for providing electron to ketone which are protonated by acids ! Thanks .. u also have to understand my answer

Abc

9 Years ago

can we use Zn only because Zn is a metal and should be able to provide electrons.why then we require AMALGAM form of Zinc.

Priyanka Chahal

Approved Tutor Answer9 Years ago

Amalgamated zinc is a powerful reducing agent, with a standard redox potential of −0.76 V. The amalgam does not have a passive layer so it is a more effective reducing agent than zinc metal. While zinc form many layers of oxide on it ! Now it may help You 👍👏