Facile Hydrogenation of Ketones Catalyzed by Platinum on Carbon under Ordinary Pressures and Temperatures

An efficient and practical procedure for the hydrogenation of aliphatic and aromatic ketones under mild reaction conditions is established. The method is highly effective even for the hydrogenation of sterically hindered ketones. Furthermore, the selective hydrogenation of the carbonyl group of aromatic ketones was achieved with the aromatic nuclei and the resulting secondary benzyl alcohol moiety still intact on addition of catalytic amount of pyridine.