Catecholalane (1,3,2-Benzodioxaluminole) as a Selective Reducing Agent

Catecholalane (1,3,2-Benzodioxaluminole, CA) prepared from catechol and aluminum hydride in tetrahydrofuran (THF) is found to be a selective reducing agent. The systematic study in order to characterize the reducing properties of the reagent under practical conditions (THF, 0 or 25 ℃, the quantitative amount of reagent to compound) has been done. The reagent reduces aldehydes, ketones, esters and acid chlorides to the corresponding alcohols, and primary amides to the corresponding amines. Especially noteworthy is that the reagent can convert both aromatic and aliphatic nitriles to the corresponding aldehydes in very high yields.