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What happens when benzaldehyde is treated with a concentrated base?
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When benzaldehyde is treated with a concentrated base, it undergoes a chemical process known as the Cannizzaro reaction.1
In this reaction, the benzaldehyde undergoes simultaneous oxidation and reduction. Specifically, one molecule of the aldehyde is reduced to benzyl alcohol, while another molecule is oxidized to form the salt of benzoic acid. For example, when treated with alcoholic potassium hydroxide, the reaction yields potassium benzoate and benzyl alcohol.213
This phenomenon was discovered by the Italian chemist Stanislao Cannizzaro in 1853.1