Pinacol as a new green reducing agent: Molybdenum-catalyzed chemoselective reduction of sulfoxides and nitroaromatics

Abstract

Pinacol is disclosed as a new chemoselective and environmentally benign reducing agent for sulfoxides and nitroaromatics assisted by readily available dichlorodioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes as catalysts. A wide range of substrates including those bearing challenging functional groups has been efficiently and selectively reduced with acetone and water being the only by-products of these reactions. Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.