What aspect of the structure of the alkene does ozonolysis not tell you?
1 Answer
Dec 28, 2014
Ozonolysis does not tell you about any stereochemistry there may have been in the original alkene.
Reductive ozonolysis converts an alkene into a pair of carbonyl compounds.
If the R groups are different, we can have cis/trans or E/Z stereochemistry.
If R₂ and R₄ are the groups with higher priority, 1 is a Z alkene. 2 is an E alkene.
But both give the same ozonolysis products.
You cannot distinguish between cis-but-2-ene and trans-but-2-ene by reductive ozonolysis.
They both give acetaldehyde as the only ozonolysis product.
