It’s possible to treat an alkene with ozone (O3) and obtain alkenes from oxidative cleavage. The products will depend on the structure of the starting alkene as well as the choice of workup for ozonolysis.

Yes, ozone would cleave an unsaturated fatty acid. Assuming the C=C was disubstituted, then yes, you’d end up with one molecule being an aldehyde and the other being an aldehyde-acid. You are right!

For ozonolysis, steric factors are rarely a concern. Bigger factor is that greater substitution on the double bond leads to a more electron-rich alkene and then a faster reaction (cycloaddition).

For diols, I suppose it could be somewhat of a concern but we’re usually forming bonds between oxygen and Pb or I which do not form long bonds to start with and have ligands which are easy to displace. In my experience, not a big issue.

How can alkenes form aldehyde

Well, there’s an aldehyde – so think backwards. The C=O of the aldehyde came from being part of an alkene. And the C-H of the aldehyde was also present in the alkene. If there’s 4 carbons total, then there must be 3 carbons attached to the aldehyde carbonyl, so there should be three extra carbons attached to the carbon of the alkene that becomes the aldehyde after oxidative cleavage.

Hi Julie, you can cite the site name and the URL if you wish. The post is just a summary of data you’d see in textbooks, although more focused on a specific issue.