Oxidation of cholesterol converts the alcohol to a ketone. Under acidic or basic oxidation conditions, the C==C double bond migrates to the more stable, conjugated position. Before IR and NMR spectroscopy, chemists watched the UV spectrum of the reaction mixture to follow the oxidation. Describe how the UV spectrum of the conjugated product, cholest-4-en- 3-one, differs from that of cholesterol.

Transcribed Image Text:

CH3 H,C H [oj HO cholesterol cholest-4-en-3-one