Tests for Aldehydes
and Ketones
2,4-DNP
Test for Aldehydes and Ketones Tollen's Test for Aldehydes
Jones (Chromic Acid) Oxidation
Test for Aldehydes
Iodoform Test for Methyl Ketones
2,4-DNP Test for Aldehydes and Ketones Aldehyde or Ketone

Standards
Cyclohexanone, Benzophenone, and Benzaldehyde
Procedure
Add a solution of 1 or 2 drops or 30 mg of unknown in 2 mL of
95% ethanol to 3 mL of 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine reagent. Shake vigorously,
and, if no precipitate forms immediately, allow the solution to stand
for 15 minutes.
The 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine reagent will already be prepared for you.
Positive test
Formation of a precipitate is a positive test.
Complications
- Some ketones give oils which will not solidify.
- Some allylic alcohols are oxidized by the reagent to aldehydes and
give a positive test.
- Some alcohols, if not purified, may contain aldehyde or ketone impurities.
Tollen’s
Test for Aldehydes
Aldehyde
Standards
Cyclohexanone and Benzaldehyde
Procedure
Add one drop or a few crystals of unknown to 1 mL of the freshly prepared Tollens
reagent. Gentle heating can be employed if no reaction is immediately observed.
Tollens reagent: Into a test tube which has been cleaned with
3M sodium hydroxide, place 2 mL of 0.2 M silver nitrate solution, and add
a drop of 3M sodium hydroxide. Add 2.8% ammonia solution, drop by drop,
with constant shaking, until almost all of the precipitate of silver oxide
dissolves. Don't use more than 3 mL of ammonia. Then dilute the entire
solution to a final volume of 10 mL with water.
Positive Test
Formation of silver mirror or a black precipitate is a positive test.
Complications
- The test tube must be clean and oil-free if a silver mirror is to
be observed.
- Easily oxidized compounds give a positive test. For example: aromatic
amine and some phenols.
Cleaning up
Place all solutions used in this experiment in an appropriate waste container.
Jones (Chromic
Acid) Oxidation Test for Aldehydes Aldehydes
Standards
Cyclohexanone and Benzaldehyde
Procedure
Dissolve 10 mg or 2 drops of the unknown in 1 mL of pure acetone in a test
tube and add to the solution 1 small drop of Jones reagent (chronic acid
in sulfuric acid). A positive test is marked by the formation of a green
color within 5 seconds upon addition of the orange-yellow reagent to a primary
or secondary alcohol. Aldehydes also give a positive test, but tertiary alcohols
do not.
The Jones reagent will already be prepared for you.
Positive Test
A positive test for aldehydes and primary or secondary alcohols consists in
the production of an opaque suspension with a green to blue color. Tertiary
alcohols give no visible reaction within 2 seconds, the solution remaining
orange in color. Disregard any changes after 15 seconds.
Complications
- Aldehydes are better characterized in other ways. The color usually
develops in 5-15 seconds.
Cleaning up
Place the test solution in the appropriate waste container.
Iodoform Test
for Methyl Ketones
Ketone
Standard
Acetone
Procedure
If the substance to be tested is water soluble, dissolve 4 drops of a liquid
or an estimated 50 mg of a solid in 2 mL of water in a large test tube.
Add 2 mL of 3 M sodium hydroxide and then slowly add 3 mL of the iodine
solution. Stopper the test tube and shake vigorously. A positive test will
result in the brown color of the reagent disappearing and the yellow iodoform
solid precipitating out of solution. If the substance to be tested is insoluble
in water, dissolve it in 2 mL of 1,2-dimethoxyethane, proceed as above,
and at the end dilute with 10 mL of water.
Positive Test
Formation of solid iodoform (yellow) is a positive test. (Iodoform can
be recognized by its odor and yellow color and, more securely, from the
melting point 119o-123oC).
Complications
Test will not be positive if the R group is a di-ortho substituted aryl group
Cleaning Up
Place solutions in the appropriate waste container.
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