Polyhydroxy alcohols as hydrogen donors in catalytic transfer reduction of carbonyl groups over MgO

The catalytic transfer reduction of benzaldehyde with polyhydric alcohols has been studied over MgO. 1,3-Propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1,6-hexanediol, 1,2,6-hexanetriol and triethylene glycol were found to be effective reductants for the carbonyl group. Vicinal diols such as 1,2-ethanediol and 1,2-propanediol did not exhibit any activity in the transformation studied. 1,4-Butanediol was successfully used in the large laboratory scale CTR of benzaldehyde.