Aldehyde: Learn about aldehydes

Learn about aldehydes, organic compounds with a carbonyl group attached to a hydrogen atom. Find out how to name, prepare, and identify them using chemical tests and reactions. An aldehyde has a central carbonyl functional group, which is a carbon atom that’s double-bonded with an oxygen atom. Attached to this central functional group is a generic alkyl substituent (the R group) and a hydrogen atom. Aldehydes are organic compounds consist of a carbonyl center (a carbon double-bonded to oxygen), a bonded hydrogen, a side-chain R group. Aldehydes are organic compounds with a functional group R−CH=O. They have diverse physical and chemical properties and are involved in many natural and synthetic processes. Learn about their synthesis, identification, occurrence and examples.