Editing Acetophenone (section)

===Laboratory reagent===
In instructional laboratories,<ref>{{cite journal |title= Polystyrene—A multistep synthesis: For the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory |first1= Samuel H. |last1= Wilen |first2= Chester B. |last2= Kremer |first3= Irving |last3= Waltcher |journal= J. Chem. Educ. |year= 1961 |volume= 38 |issue= 6 |pages= 304–305 |doi= 10.1021/ed038p304 |bibcode= 1961JChEd..38..304W }}</ref> acetophenone is converted to [[styrene]] in a two-step process that illustrates the reduction of carbonyls using [[sodium borohydride]] and the [[dehydration reaction|dehydration]] of alcohols:
:{{chem2 | 4  C6H5C(O)CH3 + NaBH4 + 4 H2O -> 4 C6H5CH(OH)CH3 + NaOH + B(OH)3}}
:{{chem2 | C6H5CH(OH)CH3  -> C6H5CH\dCH2  +  H2O}}

A similar two-step process is used industrially, but reduction step is performed by [[hydrogenation]] over a [[copper chromite]] [[catalyst]]:<ref name=Ullmann/>
:{{chem2 | C6H5C(O)CH3 + H2 -> C6H5CH(OH)CH3 }}

Being [[prochiral]], acetophenone is also a popular test substrate for asymmetric [[hydrogenation]] experiments.