Dissolve the ketone in pet ether (b 30-60o), wash it with saturated aqueous NaHCO3, dry over Drierite and fractionate in a vacuum. It gives a violet colour with ethanolic FeCl3 and is only slowly hydrolysed by 10% aqueous KOH but rapidly on boiling to yield 6-oxoheptanoic acid. [Manyik et al. J Am Chem Soc 75 5030 1953, Acheson J Chem Soc 4232 1956, UV: Martin & Frenelius J Am Chem Soc 81 2342 1959.] It gives a gray green Cu salt from Et2O/pentane, m 237-238o [House & Wasson J Am Chem Soc 79 1488 1957].
