The Baker–Venkataraman rearrangement is the chemical reaction

Chemical reaction

A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Chemical reactions can be either spontaneous, requiring no input of energy, or non-spontaneous, typically following the input of some type of energy, such as heat, light or electricity...

 of 2-acetoxyacetophenones with base to form 1,3-diketone

Ketone

In organic chemistry, a ketone is an organic compound with the structure RCR', where R and R' can be a variety of atoms and groups of atoms. It features a carbonyl group bonded to two other carbon atoms. Many ketones are known and many are of great importance in industry and in biology...

s.

This rearrangement reaction

Rearrangement reaction

A rearrangement reaction is a broad class of organic reactions where the carbon skeleton of a molecule is rearranged to give a structural isomer of the original molecule. Often a substituent moves from one atom to another atom in the same molecule...

 proceeds via enolate formation followed by acyl transfer. It is named after the scientists Wilson Baker

Wilson Baker

Professor Wilson Baker FRS was a British organic chemist.He was born in Runcorn, the youngest of the four children of Harry and Mary Baker ; his father was himself a chemist, having studied under Sir Henry Enfield Roscoe and Robert Bunsen, amongst others...

 and Krishnasami Venkataraman.

The Baker–Venkataraman rearrangement is often used to synthesize chromone

Chromone

Chromone is a derivative of benzopyran with a substituted keto group on the pyran ring. It is an isomer of coumarin.Derivatives of chromone are collectively known as chromones...

s and flavones.
With a base being a catalyst, it attacks hydrogen atom in Acetophenone

Acetophenone

Acetophenone is the organic compound with the formula C6H5CCH3. It is the simplest aromatic ketone. This colourless, viscous liquid is a precursor to useful resins and fragrances.-Production:Acetophenone can be obtained by a variety of methods...

 and an enolate is formed.