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Benzaldehyde (Benzenecarbaldehyde)


A yellow organic oil with a formula C7H6Oand with a distinct almondlike odor. The molecular weight is  and density 1.2659 g/cm3  , melting point is 122 °C .
Benzaldehyde undergoes the reactions characteristic of aldehydes and may be synthesized in the laboratory by the usual methods of aldehyde synthesis. It is used as a food flavoring and in the manufacture of dyes and antibiotics, and can be readily manufactured by the chlorination of methylbenzene and the subsequent hydrolysis of (dichloromethyl) benzene:
C₆H₅CH₃ + Cl₂ → C₆H₅CHCl₂ 
C₆H₅CHCl₂ + 2H₂O → C₆H₅CH(OH)₂+ 2HCl
C₆H₅CH(OH)₂ → C₆H₅CHO + H₂O