Commutative reduction of aromatic ketones to arylmethylenes/alcohols by hypophosphites catalyzed by Pd/C under biphasic conditions

An efficient method is reported to reduce aromatic ketones selectively into arylmethylenes or alcohols with hypophosphites and Pd/C, depending on the selected conditions. This study could represent a promising alternative to the classical uses of standard hydrides or molecular hydrogen involved in reduction and deoxygenation procedures. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.