What happens when acetophenone is treated with HCN?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is option 2. Acetophenone cyanohydrin.
When acetophenone \((C_6H_5COCH_3)\) is treated with hydrogen cyanide \((HCN)\), it undergoes a nucleophilic addition reaction at the carbonyl carbon of the ketone group. This reaction is known as cyanohydrin formation.
The product formed is acetophenone cyanohydrin, which has the following structure:
Mechanism:
