An efficient and green protocol for highly selective reduction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones at room temperature is described in a range of ionic liquids, in the absence of noble metal catalysts, by using NaBH 4 as reducing agent. Most notably, using [P 6,6,6,14 ][N(CN) 2 ] ionic liquid, in absence of organic solvent, within 10 min, 97% conversion of cinnamalde-hyde was achieved with 100% selectivity towards cinnamyl alcohol. The ionic liquid was easily recycled without any noticeable decline in activity. The reduction protocol was further extended to a variety of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones.
The cover picture shows highly selective reduction of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamyl alcohol facilitated in ionic liquids. In this work, a new protocol for selective reduction of α, β‐unsaturated aldehydes and ketones, has been developed in presence of ionic liquids by using NaBH4 as reducing agent. Under optimised conditions in [P6,6,6,14][N(CN)2] ionic liquid, 97% conversion of cinamaldehyde with 100% selectivity to cinnamyl alcohol was achieved with enhanced reaction rates. The reaction protocol is facile and [P6,6,6,14][N(CN)2] ionic liquid was easily recycled without any noticeable loss of activity and selectivity. More information can be found in the Full Paper by Manyar et al. (DOI: 10.1002/slct.201801092).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.