Write a balanced chemical equation for formaldehyde (CH2O)?

2 Answers

• You cannot have a balanced chemical equation for something by itself. If you are asking what is a balanced chemical equation for the production of formaldehyde, remember that aldehydes are oxidation products of alcohols, and the one of interest here is methanol, CH3OH.

  2CH3OH + O2 → 2CHOH + 2H2O

  CHOH is of course formaldehyde, CH2OH

• Do you want to form CH2O from its constituent elements? If so:

  C + H2 + (1/2)O2 —> CH2O