Applying Green Chemistry Principles to the Reduction of Ketones

The reduction of ketones to alcohols is a common reaction learned in organic chemistry. Traditional methods of ketone reduction, while effective, lead to inefficient use of energy and resources. The purpose of this research was to introduce green chemistry techniques to the reaction of ketones with sodium borohydride. Microwave irradiation was used in place of the traditional refluxing process, and silica gel was used as a solid support instead of solvent. Eight different cyclohexanones variable substitution patterns were reduced using this method. The parameters of time and solid support amounts were optimized to between 2–5 minutes depending on the starting ketone, and a ratio of 2:4 sodium borohydride: solid support. These reduced ketones were characterized using available spectroscopic techniques to determine disappearance of the starting ketone and formation of the alcohol. This fast and efficient experiment can be adapted to the organic chemistry teaching laboratory