Conversion of Benzaldehyde to c-hydroxyphenylacetic acid

Explanation

To convert benzaldehyde to α-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Structures
- **Benzaldehyde** has the structure of a benzene ring with a formyl group (-CHO) attached.
- **α-Hydroxyphenylacetic acid** has a benzene ring with a carboxylic acid group (-COOH) and a hydroxyl group (-OH) on the α-carbon (the carbon next to the carboxylic acid).

### Step 2: Perform the Reaction with NaCN and HCl
- Treat benzaldehyde with sodium cyanide (NaCN) and hydrochloric acid (HCl).
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