Pinacol as a New Green Reducing Agent: Molybdenum- Catalyzed Chemoselective Reduction of Sulfoxides and Nitroaromatics

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.