Acetaldehyde - A Lewis Base

The O-atom in acetaldehyde is sp2 hybridized. There are two lone pairs on the O-atom. The lone pairs provide aldehydes with the characteristics of a Lewis base. The O-atom can be attacked by protons (a special Lewis acid) and by boranes and by all other kinds of Lewis acids.


Figure. The MP2(full)/6-31G* optimized structure of the Lewis base acetaldehyde.