Carbonyl compounds as carbon acids

Proton transfer to carbon bases tenors) and from carbon acids (ketones) det ermines the rare of ketonization and enolization reactions, respectively. K inetic studies performed over the last two decades have provided absolute r ate constants and reliable equilibrium constants for a broad range of proto tropic reactions. Structure-reactivity and free energy relationships now fo rm a reliable framework to predict the reactivity of the transient species involved in these fundamental reactions. Comparison of reaction rates in aq ueous solution with rates achieved by enzymes reveals the striking efficien cy of the latter.