__link__: Acetally

From that day on, Emily made sure to be more careful with her camera, but she never forgot the funny story of how she accidentally ended up in the pond.

| Reaction | Conditions | Result | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Aldehyde/Ketone + Alcohol (excess) + H⁺ (cat.) + Heat / Remove H₂O | Acetal | | Hydrolysis | Acetal + H₂O + H⁺ (cat.) + Heat | Aldehyde/Ketone + Alcohol | | Transacetalization | Acetal + Different Alcohol + H⁺ | New Acetal + Original Alcohol | acetally

Let’s break down exactly what acetals are, how they work, and why you should care about them. From that day on, Emily made sure to

To translate: Take a carbon that used to be a carbonyl (C=O). Replace the oxygen double bond with two single-bonded alkoxy (OR') groups. The carbon now has four single bonds—two to carbons/hydrogens and two to oxygens. Replace the oxygen double bond with two single-bonded

Unlike many other plastics, acetal does not absorb much water, allowing it to stay "dimensionally stable" in wet environments. It also resists many solvents, fuels, and alcohols.

In the strictest IUPAC sense, an acetal is a molecule with the formula: