Chemistry Letters, Vol.45, No.8, 985-987, 2016
Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-type Reduction over a Metal-free TiO2 Photocatalyst in Alcohol: Chemoselective Hydrogenation of Chlorobenzaldehyde to Chlorobenzyl Alcohol
p-Chlorobenzaldehyde was almost quantitatively and chemoselectively reduced to p-chlorobenzyl alcohol in alcoholic suspensions of a metal-free titanium(IV) oxide photocatalyst under hydrogen-free conditions. Since alcohols act as electron donors and hydrogen sources, this reaction can be regarded as a heterogeneous Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-type reduction over a photocatalyst. Excellent chemoselectivity was also observed in the intermolecular competitive reduction of benzaldehyde (BA) and chlorobenzene (CB), i.e., only BA was reduced to benzyl alcohol, with CB not being reduced.