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Clemmensen reduction template
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Acetophenone is reduced to ethylbenzene by Zn(Hg) in hot conc. HCl. The carbonyl is protonated, then electrons from the zinc surface and protons remove the oxygen as water.
Mechanism step by step
Zinc amalgam and conc. HCl reduce a ketone C=O to CH₂
- Protonation – HCl protonates the carbonyl oxygen
- On the zinc surface – Electrons from zinc and protons from the acid remove O as water
Key points
- Overall: C=O + 4 [H] → CH₂ + H₂O, run in hot concentrated HCl.
- Works best for aryl alkyl ketones, such as those from Friedel–Crafts acylation.
- The surface mechanism is not settled (zinc carbenoids are proposed); the alcohol is not an intermediate, because alcohols are not reduced under these conditions.
- Acid-sensitive compounds: use the Wolff–Kishner reduction (hydrazine, KOH) instead.
Drawn with 55 atoms, 5 arrows, 6 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.
Sources
How to use this template
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Frequently asked questions
Is the Clemmensen reduction template free?
You can preview the Clemmensen reduction template here and open and edit it in MolDraw for free. Downloading or exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro, together with the other premium templates.
Can I edit the Clemmensen reduction template?
Yes. It opens as an ordinary MolDraw drawing, so every structure, arrow, label and colour can be changed, and you can add your own content around it.
Is the chemistry checked?
Every structure is checked with RDKit and every curly arrow passes MolDraw’s electron-flow audit. The sources used are listed on this page.
Which name reactions are included?
Over seventy, covering the reactions most often asked in school-leaving exams (A-level, IB, CBSE, JEE and NEET) and first-year university courses, including condensations, rearrangements, oxidations, reductions and aromatic substitutions.