Reductions with sulfurated borohydrides. II. Reduction of typical aldehydes

Abstract

Aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes can be reduced by sulfurated sodium borohydride to the corresponding alcohols. The reduction gives a quantitative yield of alcohol, without secondary products, if the reaction is performed at 0–10 °C. At higher temperatures (60°), the reduction is accompanied by the formation of disulfide. A good selection of the two possible reactions is obtained by adjusting the operating temperature. A mechanism explaining the reduction and the formation of sulfurated product is presented.