Carbonyl reduction with CaH2 and R3SiCl catalyzed by Zncl2

Abstract Ketones and aldehydes were effectively reduced to the corresponding alcohols (or their silyl ethers) by the reaction with CaH 2 and R 3 SiCl in the presence of a catalytic amount of ZnCl 2 . In the absence of the carbonyl substrate, the reagent reduced R 3 SiCl to the corresponding hydrosilane under mild reaction conditions.