[toeknee2120]

What are the situations that an aldol rxn does not proceed to the condensation product? Is it ONLY if there are no α-H left to deprotonate?

I know condensation will occur if the loss of the α-H and β-OH form a conjugated double bond, but if that doesn't happen, I'm confused if I should leave the answer as the aldol product or keep going to the condensation product.

Thanks in advance.

[AlphaScent]

ccan you give some drawings to explain what you mean?

[toeknee2120]

The most recent example is this (see attached #1) problem I was working last night. In this problem, we had to try to convert acetophenone into a certain product. But as you can see, the first step when they combine formaldehyde with acetophenone, the product is the β-hydroxy. Then, the next step the add PCC (But I'm not concerned with that).

Attachment #2 shows a directed aldol rxn, and again, I'm confused as to why it didn't continue to the condensation product.

Attachment #3 is the brief section of my book where it talks about dehydration of the aldol product. The top rxn shows that dehydration leads to conjugation of the C=C and C=O bonds, which is a good thing, so I don't see why it doesn't happen in the previous attachments. But, I do see that dehydration is spontaneous if it leads to conjugation with a C=C, or benzene.