The video tutorial by Professor Dave explains the importance of forming and cleaving carbon-carbon bonds in organic synthesis. It introduces Periodic acid as a reagent that acts as an oxidizing agent, particularly useful for oxidizing polyhydroxy compounds like vicinal diols. The tutorial provides examples with glycerol and glyceraldehyde, demonstrating how Periodic acid cleaves carbon-carbon bonds to form carbonyls. The mechanism involves the formation of a cyclic periodate ester, leading to the cleavage of bonds and formation of iodic acid and water. This technique is valuable for breaking molecules into fragments or converting cyclic substrates to linear ones.

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