Methyl Ketone Halogenation to Carboxylic Acid

Methyl ketones can be converted into carboxylic acids by a reaction called the haloform reaction. It uses excess base and a halogen. The process starts when the alpha hydrogen is removed to form an enolate ion, which then reacts with the electrophilic halogen.

Halogenation continues at the alpha ...

The haloform reaction is a method to obtain carboxylic acids from methyl ketones in the presence of an excess of base and halogen. It is named after the by-product of the reaction—haloform.

The reaction commences with generation of an enolate, followed by halogenation to give an α-halo ketone.

This continues until all α protons are...