Aldehydes

Science and Technology An aldehyde is an organic compound containing a formyl group. The group without R is called the aldehyde group or formyl group.

This functional group, with the structure R-CHO, consists of a carbonyl centre bonded to hydrogen and an R group. Aldehydes differ from ketones in that the carbonyl is placed at the end of a carbon skeleton rather than between two carbon atoms. Aldehydes are common in organic chemistry. Many fragrances are aldehydes.