Reduction
Reduction of a ketone gives a secondary alcohol.
- Reagents
- LiAlH4
- Conditions
- dry ether, then aqueous work-up
- Reaction class
- reduction
- Equation
- R-CO-R' + 2[H] -> R-CHOH-R'
Overview
Reduction of a ketone gives a secondary alcohol.
Transformation
- Equation
- R-CO-R' + 2[H] -> R-CHOH-R'
- Reagents
- LiAlH4
- Environment
- dry ether, then aqueous work-up
- Reaction class
- reduction
- Mechanism
- hydride reduction
- Evidence level
- textbook core
Scope and limitations
- Scope
- Ketones can be reduced to secondary alcohols.
- Limitations
- This route records the reduction outcome; reagent-specific hydride-transfer detail is kept separate from the route summary.
Related reactions
- Cyanohydrin formation: Ketones → Hydroxynitriles
Cyanide addition to a ketone forms a hydroxynitrile, adding a second carbonyl route into the expanded organic network.
- Oxidation: Alcohols → Ketones
Oxidation of a secondary alcohol gives a ketone.
- Oxidation: Secondary alcohols → Ketones
Oxidation of a secondary alcohol gives a ketone.
- Carbonyl addition: Grignard reagents → Secondary alcohols
Grignard addition to aldehydes gives secondary alcohols after work-up.
- Grignard addition co reactant: Aldehydes → Secondary alcohols
Aldehydes plus Grignard reagents give secondary alcohols after acidic work-up.
- Grignard addition co reactant: Ketones → Tertiary alcohols
Ketones plus Grignard reagents give tertiary alcohols after acidic work-up.
References
- Organic Chemistry: Nucleophilic Addition of Hydride and Grignard ReagentsJohn McMurry · OpenStax Organic Chemistry · 2023
Supports hydride addition to aldehydes and ketones followed by protonation to form alcohols; used as the mechanism-pattern source for the aldehyde-to-primary-alcohol template.