A
reductone is a special class of
. They are
enol with a carbonyl group adjacent to the enediol group, i.e. RC(OH)=C(OH)-C(O)R. The enediol structure is stabilized by the resonance resulting from the tautomerism with the adjacent carbonyl. Therefore, the chemical equilibrium produces mainly the enediol form rather than the keto form.
Reductones are reducing agents, thus efficacious . Some are fairly strong acids.
