 Today, the name has grown to refer to any reaction of aldehydes, primary aromatic amines and phenols producing α-aminobenzylphenols.The reaction mechanism begins with an imine condensation of a primary aromatic amine and formaldehyde

Once the imine is produced, it reacts with phenol in the presence of water to yield an α-aminobenzylphenol.First, the lone-pair on the nitrogen of the imine deprotonates the phenol, pushing the bonding electrons onto the oxygen.