In the formation of an enol, a base abstracts an a-proton from a carbonyl compound, and that same proton (or a proton on a nearby acid group) is transferred to the carbonyl oxygen. There are a few spe...In the formation of an enol, a base abstracts an a-proton from a carbonyl compound, and that same proton (or a proton on a nearby acid group) is transferred to the carbonyl oxygen. There are a few special cases where the enol form predominates at equilibrium: 2,4-pentane dione exists mostly in its enol form (76%), due to the extra stability of the conjugated double bonds that are present in the enol form, and due also to a favorable hydrogen bonding interaction.
