Draw the structure of the starting material in the ozonolysis reaction below. Hint: The starting material and product have the same number of carbons (i.e., 1 mol reactant : 1 mol product).
The starting material involved in the formation of 5-Oxoheptanal is 1-ethylcyclopent-1-ene as shown in reaction below.
Ozone is one of the reactive allotrope of oxygen. It reacts vigorously with unsaturated compounds like alkenes and alkynes. In this reaction alkene and O₃ first react to produce Molozonide which is highly unstable and rearranges to form a stable ozonide as shown in scheme attached below.
Furthermore, the ozonide on reduction is convertwed into ketones and aldehydes respectively.