Clean and Simple Chemoselective Reduction of Imines to Amines Using Boric Acid-Activated Sodium Borohydride under Solvent-Free Conditions

Abstract

The first clean and highly effective solvent-free chemoselective reduction of functionalized aldimines and ketimines bearing easily reducible functional groups, such as ketone, carboxylic acid, ester, nitrile, amide, nitro, furyl and alkenyl groups, to the corresponding amines using boric acid-activated ­sodium borohydride is described.