A simple reduction of methyl aromatic esters to alcohols using sodium borohydride-methanol system

摘要

Several aromatic esters were reduced to the corresponding alcohol by using sodium borohydride methanol system.The reduction was completed within 2.0-4.0h after refluxing in THF.The alcohol products were isolated after aqueous workup in good yields (88-97%).Reduction is a fundamental transformation in organic synthesis.Since its discovery by Brown and co-workers,sodium borohydride is the most frequently hydride used in reduction process.