What is your observation if you differentiate 2-butanone and 2-methylbutanal using tollens reagent and 24-DNPHwrite the equation involved?

Answer 1

When differentiating 2-butanone and 2-methylbutanal using Tollens' reagent, 2-methylbutanal (an aldehyde) will reduce the reagent to form a silver mirror, whereas 2-butanone (a ketone) will not react. With 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (2,4-DNPH), both compounds will react to form yellow or orange precipitates because they both contain carbonyl groups. The reactions can be summarized as follows:

For 2-methylbutanal with Tollens' reagent: [ \text{RCHO} + \text{Ag}^+ \rightarrow \text{RCOO}^- + \text{Ag} \downarrow ]

For 2-butanone and 2,4-DNPH: [ \text{RCO} + \text{2,4-DNPH} \rightarrow \text{RCO-NH-C(=N^+-OH)(C_6H_3(NO_2)_2)} + \text{H}_2O ] (forms a yellow-orange precipitate)