Cobalt-Catalyzed Reduction of Aldehydes to Alcohols via the Hydroboration Reaction.

A method for the reduction of aldehydes with pinacolborane catalyzed by pincer cobalt complexes based on a triazine backbone is developed in this paper. The presented methodology allows for the transformation of several aldehydes bearing a wide range of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups under mild conditions. The presented procedure allows for the direct one-step hydrolysis of the obtained intermediates to the corresponding primary alcohols. A plausible reaction mechanism is proposed.