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Wolff-Kishner Reduction

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  • Page ID
    43087

    • The reaction of aldehydes and ketones with hydrazine in basic medium, which reduces the aldehyde or the ketone to a hydrocarbon, is called Wolff-Kishner reduction.

    eg:

    wolffkishnerreduction1.png

    mechanism:

    index.png

    Wolff-Kishner reduction is complementary to Clemmensen reduction, which also converts aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons, in that the former is carried out in strongly basic medium and the latter in strongly acidic medium.