Benzaldehyde

Other comments :

As it can be compared to Furfural and Salicylaldehyde, Benzaldehyde is the reference almond note in perfumery.

Stability :

Tends to oxydize easily into perbenzoic acid, which can react with itself to onvert it into Benzoic Acid.
Tends to color through time.

Uses in perfumery :

Benzaldehyde is used in almond, fruit stone and nutty notes. Gives nuances to vanilla notes.

Year of discovery :

Discovered in 1863.

Isomerism :

Benzaldehyde does not have any isomer used in perfumery.

Synthesis precursor :

Benzaldehyde is the precursor to the synthesis of many compounds used in perfumery. For example, its hydrogenation synthesizes benzoic alcohol. It condenses with other aldehydes to create many other compounds, replacing the aldehyde function with an alcene function. Finally, a Perkin reaction with several acids allows to obtain various compounds, such as Cinnamic Acid by reaction with acetic anhydride. Finally, benzaldehyde forms a Schiff base by reaction with Methyl Anthranilate or Indole for example.

Natural availability :

Benzaldehyde can be found in almond, several fruits, Vanilla Bourbon Absolute (and other origins), Grandiflorum Jasmine Absolute and fruit stones. In its natural state, it is extracted from Bitter Almond EO, of which it is the major compound.

Synthesis route :

Benzaldehyde is synthesized by hydrolysis of benzyl chloride, by an acidic route in the presence of iron chloride, or by an alkaline route in the presence of sodium carbonate. A toluene oxidation also allows to obtain both Benzoic Acid and Benzaldehyde.