Reduction of aldehydes and ketones to corresponding alcohols using diammonium hydrogen phosphite and commercial zinc dust

Article abstract of DOI:10.1155/2011/493685

A mild and an efficient system has been developed for the reduction of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to their corresponding alcohols in good yield using inexpensive commercial zinc dust as catalyst and diammonium hydrogen phosphite as a hydrogen donor.

Full text of DOI:10.1155/2011/493685

ISSN: 0973-4945; CODEN ECJHAO
E-Journal of Chemistry
2011, 8(1), 49-52
http://www.e-journals.net
Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones to
Corresponding Alcohols Using Diammonium
Hydrogen Phosphite and Commercial Zinc Dust
K. ANIL KUMAR and D. CHANNE GOWDA*
Department of Studies in Chemistry
University of Mysore, Manasagangotri, Mysore-570006, India
dchannegowda@yahoo.co.in
Received 14 January 2010; Accepted 14 March 2010
Abstract: A mild and an efficient system has been developed for the reduction
of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to their corresponding alcohols in good
yield using inexpensive commercial zinc dust as catalyst and diammonium
hydrogen phosphite as a hydrogen donor.
Keywords: Zinc dust, Diammonium hydrogen phosphite, Carbonyl compounds, Catalytic transfer
hydrogenation
.
Introduction
Benzylic alcohols and their derivatives occupy an important position in organic synthesis.
Preparation of benzylic alcohols and its derivatives from the reduction of carbonyl
functional group is of great importance in organic chemistry and there are numerous
applications in fine chemical industry and laboratory1 A large number of methods including
.
catalytic reduction2, Meerwin-ponndorff-verley reduction2, hydride transfer reagents3,
homogeneous catalysis4-6 and heterogeneous catalysis7-9 systems were reported to be
effective towards carbonyl compounds reduction. The reduction of carbonyls to the
corresponding alcohols with zinc dust was known to occur under acidic conditions10-11
.
Unfortunately, the reaction gives low chemoselectivity, for example, the reduction of
aromatic aldehydes only gives a mixture of arylmethyl acetates and pinacols12.
As a part of our research on searching for more environmentally benign methods to
reduce carbonyls, we have developed a new and efficient method to reduce aldehydes and
ketones to alcohols, using zinc and diammonium hydrogen phosphite, as a reducing agent in
toluene/water media at refluxed condition (Scheme 1). The proposed system is highly
efficient in reducing both nitro and carbonyl groups; where as most of the existing methods
were not able to reduce both functional groups simultaneously. Other functional groups viz.,
-Cl, -Br, -CH3, -OCH3, and –OH are tolerated.

50
D. CHANNE GOWDA et al.
However, it is interesting to note that the presence of electron withdrawing group
increases the rate of reduction of carbonyl group whereas the presence of electron releasing
group retard the rate of reduction of carbonyl group. This is confirmed by the fact that
trimethoxybenzaldehyde has not yield any alcohol even after 24 h of reduction at reflux
temperature.
O
OH
(NH4)2HPO3/H2O , Zn
r t / Reflux, Toluene
R
R
X
X
Where R= -H,-CH3.
X = -Cl, -Br, -OH, -CH3, -NO2, -OCH3.
Scheme 1
Experimental
Materials
All the nitro compounds were purchased from Aldrich Chemical Company (USA) and zinc dust
from SISCO Research Laboratories Pvt. Ltd., Bombay (India). Diammonium hydrogen
phosphite was prepared according to the published procedure13-14. All the solvents were of
analytical grade or were purified according to standard procedures. TLC was performed on silica
gel plates obtained from Whatman Inc with the eluting systems chloroform: methanol (90:10)
and chloroform: methanol (95:05). For preparative TLC, the plates were prepared from Kieselgel
60GF254 Merck, Darmstadt, and for column chromatography, 60-120 mesh silica gel was used.
The melting points were determined by using a Thomas-Hoover melting point apparatus and are
uncorrected. IR spectra were recorded on SHIMADZU-FTIR-8300 spectrometer.
General procedure for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones using inexpensive
commercial zinc dust and [(NH4)2HPO3]H2O in toluene
In a typical experiment, a solution of diammonium hydrogen phosphite [(NH4)2HPO3]H2O
(20 mmole) in water (2 mL) was added drop wise over 5 minute to rapidly stirred mixture of
benzaldehyde (9.7 mmole) in toluene (5 mL) and Zn dust as a catalyst (4.5 mmole). The
resultant mixture was stirred under nitrogen atmosphere for 6-8 hours in refluxed condition.
After the completion of reaction (monitered by TLC), the reaction mixture was filtered
through celite. The organic layer was evaporated and the residue was dissolved in
dichloromethane and washed with NaHSO4 solution then with brine solution. The organic
layer was dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and the solvent was evaporated under reduced
pressure to obtain the desired alcohol compound. The products were purified either by
preparative TLC or by column chromatography.
Results and Discussion
The results given in Table 1 reveal the viability of using zinc and diammonium hydrogen
phosphite system for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones to corresponding alcohols. The
course of the reaction was monitored by TLC and IR spectra. The work-up and the isolation
of the products were easy. Thus, the aldehydes and ketones reduced by this system were
obtained in good yields. The products were characterized by comparison of their boiling
points or melting points, TLC, IR and 1H NMR spectra with authentic samples. The
disappearance of strong absorption band of 1690-1718 cm-1 due to C=O (carbonyl)
stretching and the appearance of a strong broad absorption bands between 3200-3420 cm-1
for the -OH (alcoholic) group clearly shows that the aldehydes and ketones were reduced to

Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones to Corresponding Alcohols
51
corresponding alcohols. In the case of ortho-nitro benzaldehyde (Entry 7), the nitro group
and carbonyl group both underwent reduction to yield hydroxyamine.
Table 1. Reduction of aldehydes and ketones to corresponding alcohols with diammonium
hydrogen phosphite in presence of zinc dust
Melting point, oC
Yielda
Entry
1
Substrate
Time, h
3.0*
Product
Lit
value
%
Found
CHO
CH2OH
85
204-205 203-205b
CHO
CH2OH
2
3
1.0§
72
75
68-71
55-58
70-72
58-60
Cl
Cl
Cl
CHO
CH2OH
0.75§
Cl
Cl
Cl
CHO
CH2OH
4
5
6
1.5§
2.5*
3.0*
72
70
65
78-80
83-85
79
Br
Br
CHO
CH2OH
84-86
58-61
OH
OH
CH2OH
CHO
59-61
80-81
H3C
H3C
CHO
NO2
CH2OH
NH2
81-83
7
8
4.0*
4.0*
60
60
CH2OH
CHO
259
260b
H3CO
H3CO
H3CO
CHO
No reaction
-
H3CO
9
-
-
-
OCH3
COCH3
OH
CH3
H
10
11
3.0*
65
70
204b
207
OH
COCH3
119 117-120b
CH3
1.0 §
1.5*
H
Cl
Cl
O
OH
H
78
69
66-68
12
a Isolated yields are based on single experiment and yields were not optimized
b Boiling point.
*The reaction was carried out under reflux condition
§ The reaction was carried out under room temperature

52
D. CHANNE GOWDA et al.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we wish to report a new system for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones to
corresponding alcohols. The yields obtained are comparatively moderate to good. In
addition, the catalyst is non-pyrophoric in nature and other interesting behaviour of zinc dust
lies in fact that it can be recycled after simple washing with ether and dilute HCl. The
process is more economic and makes use of mild reaction condition.
Acknowledgment
The author K. Anil Kumar wishes to thank Geetha Shishu Shikshana Sangha Institute of
Engineering and Technology for Women (GSSSIETW), Mysore for their kind assistance.
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