Module 5 : Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution

Lecture 14 : Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution - II

5.2.7 Gattermann Formylation

This is an alternative to the Gatterman-Koch reaction for formylation of aromatic compounds.

Mechanism

This reaction employs Zn(CN)2 and HCl instead of CO (Gatterman-Koch reaction). The initial product is an imminium chloride which is converted into the aldehyde by acid hydrolysis.

Example: