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Acid-catalysed hemiacetal formation template
Premium template. Preview and edit it free in MolDraw; downloading and exporting it is part of MolDraw Pro.
Acetaldehyde and methanol form a hemiacetal under acid catalysis; first stage of acetal formation.
Mechanism step by step
Protonation, addition of an alcohol, deprotonation
- Protonation – Acid activates C=O
- Addition – Methanol attacks the carbon
- Deprotonation – Water removes the proton
Key points
- Every step is reversible; acid is regenerated.
- A second alcohol, after loss of water, gives the acetal.
- Remove water (Dean–Stark) to drive acetal formation.
- Acetals protect aldehydes and ketones from bases and nucleophiles.
Drawn with 42 atoms, 10 arrows, 9 shapes – every one editable in MolDraw.
Sources
How to use this template
- Press Edit in MolDraw. The template opens on the canvas of the free MolDraw editor.
- Change anything: move structures, edit atoms and labels, recolour highlights or delete what you do not need.
- Add your own structures, arrows and text next to it, or combine several templates on one page.
- Export the drawing as PNG, SVG or PDF for slides, worksheets, theses and papers.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Acid-catalysed hemiacetal formation template free?
You can preview the Acid-catalysed hemiacetal formation 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 Acid-catalysed hemiacetal formation 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.
What is a curly-arrow mechanism template?
A ready-made drawing of a reaction mechanism in which curved arrows show where electron pairs move in each step. You can open it in MolDraw, change the substrate and reuse it.