What is the product of a specific semicarbazide reaction?

Even with today's wide range of advanced spectroscopic techniques, the semicarbazide derivative is usually the fastest way to identify an unknown organic compound because it is typically crystalline and fairly high-melting, and the melting points of semicarbazide derivatives of ketones and of aldehydes have been extensively tabulated. Thus, measurement of the melting points of the semicarbazide derivatives can identify an unknown aldehyde or ketone; if the melting point of another derivative is measured, the identification becomes unambiguous.

The product of a specific semicarbazide reaction is typically a semicarbazone compound, which is formed by the reaction between a ketone or aldehyde and semicarbazide. This reaction usually occurs under acidic conditions and involves the substitution of the carbonyl oxygen with a semicarbazide moiety.