Selective Reduction of Carbonyl Compounds with Al-Alkoxydiisobutylalanes

Reaction of carbonyl compounds with Al-alkoxydiisobutylalane (DIBAOR, R=H, Et, i-Pr, t-Bu) has been investigated in detail so as to establish their usefulness as selective reducing agents in organic synthesis. The reagents appear to be extremely mild and can reduce only aldehydes and ketones effectively under mild conditions. All the other common organic functional groups are not affected by these reagents. The reagents can also reduce α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones to the corresponding allylic alcohols without any detectable 1,4-reduction. Furthermore, the reagents show a highly chemoselective discrimination between aldehyde and ketone, between aldehydes, and between ketones. Even more remarkable is the stereoselective reduction of cyclic ketones to the thermodynamically more stable alcohol epimers.