Titanium‐Catalyzed Exhaustive Reduction of Oxo‐Chemicals

Abstract Catalytic reduction of carboxylic acids and derivatives all the way to their corresponding methyl‐compounds is very rare and still challenging for homogeneous transition‐metal catalysis. Herein, we report an unprecedented and general catalytic exhaustive reduction of carboxylic functional group straightforwardly to a methyl group. This reaction was achieved using earth‐abundant and readily available titanium as a catalyst. Our system has broad functional group tolerance and works for various other types of oxo‐chemicals such as alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, lactones, and carboxylates (>100 examples). Preliminary mechanistic studies revealed that the in situ‐generated Ti III −H species was vital for this transformation.