Chemoselective reduction of aldehydes by ruthenium trichloride and resin- bound formates

• Basudeb Basu,
• Bablee Mandal,
• Sajal Das,
• Pralay Das and
• Ashis K. Nanda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2008, 4, No. 53, doi:10.3762/bjoc.4.53

• -donor, in the presence of catalytic ruthenium trichloride is described. Aromatic aldehydes and 1,2-diketones are reduced efficiently and selectively, while aryl ketones remain unchanged. Several other potentially reducible groups attached to the aromatic moiety are unaffected. Keywords: Amberlite

• ® resins; chemoselectivity; hydrogen transfer; reduction of carbonyl group; ruthenium chloride; Introduction Reduction of carbonyl functionality by transition metal-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation (CTH) with the aid of a suitable hydrogen donor is a valuable synthetic tool and has proved to be a viable