Aminoborohydrides as Reducing Agents. 1. Sodium (Dimethylamino)- and (tert-Butylamino)borohydrides as Selective Reducing Agents

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00187a028

Replacement of a hydride in borohydride by an electron-donating alkylamino group greatly enhances the reducing ability of the resulting reagents.Thus, sodium (dimethylamino)- and (tert-butylamino)borohydrides (1, NaDMAB, and 2, NaTBAB, respectively) not only reduce aldehydes and ketones to alcohols but also are effective for the conversion of esters to alcohols and primary amides to amines in good to excellent yields.Tertiary amides are reduced to alcohols (i.e., N,N-dimethylamides) or amines (i.e.N,N-diisopropylamides) depending on the steric bulk of the alkyl substituents on nitrogen.However, secondary amides are not reduced by the reagents allowing selective conversion of primary and tertiary amides in the presence of secondary amides.Nitriles are attacked by the reagents but do not afford synthetically useful amounts of amine products.Aryl halides are slowly converted to arenes, but alkyl halides and epoxides undergo unusual reactions with the amino portion of the reagents.