Practical and Chemoselective Reduction of Acyl Chloride to Alcohol by Borohydride in Aqueous Dichloromethane

A simple methodology for the reduction of acid chlorides to their corresponding alcohols has been developed. Various carboxylic acids were converted to alcohols in excellent yields using NaBH4-K2CO3 in a mixed solvent system of dichloromethane and water (1:1) in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst at low temperature. The importance of the work is its simplicity, selectivity, excellent yield, and very short reaction time. This new reduction condition has proved to be an excellent chemoselective method for a range of acid chlorides in the presence of various functional groups.