In the industrial Wacker process for the synthesis of acetaldehyde, ethene gas is treated with an aq — Aldehydes Ketones and Carboxylic Acids Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

During the Wacker process, $Pd(II)$ oxidizes ethene to acetaldehyde and is itself reduced to elemental Palladium metal, $Pd(0)$. To make the process catalytic and continuous, $CuCl_2$ oxidizes $Pd(0)$ back to $Pd(II)$. The reduced Copper(I) chloride ($CuCl$) is then re-oxidized to $CuCl_2$ by atmospheric oxygen.