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Updated: Jun 27, 2025
Separation of Aldehydes and Reactive Ketones from Mixtures Using a Bisulfite Extraction Protocol
Published on: April 2, 2018
A Recyclable Electrochemical Reduction of Aldehydes and Ketones to Alcohols Using Water as the Hydrogen Source and
Jiatai Zhang1, Meng Chen1, Jing Xiao1
1Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, College of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Abstract:
There are several challenging problems such as the usage of combustible and hazardous hydrogen sources and severe environmental pollution in the conventional reduction of aldehydes/ketones to alcohols. We report here a practical, safe, and green electrochemical reduction, which solves these problems to a large extent. Through an undivided cell, Zn(+) and Sn(-) as the electrode, tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBAC) as the electrolyte, water as the solvent and hydrogen source, a wide range of aldehydes and ketones are converted into the corresponding alcohols in mild conditions. Furthermore, the electrolytes and water can be recycled, and reductive deuteration can be achieved by simply using D2O as the solvent. Finally, the reduction can be smoothly scaled up to a kilogram level.
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