SHORTPAPER	Synthesis 2005: 2479-2481   DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-872072
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York
An Easy Two-Step Reduction of Salicylic Acids and Alcohols to 2-Methylphenols
Francesco Mazzini, Piero Salvadori*
Dipartimento di Chimica e Chimica Industriale, University of Pisa, via Risorgimento 35, Pisa 56126, Italy Fax: +39(050)2219918260; e-Mail: lcap@dcci.unipi.it;
Received 26 April 2005

Abstract

Salicylic acids and alcohols can be reduced to 2-methylphenols by a simple two steps procedure. Reaction conditions were optimized carrying out a study on the solvent effect and the amount of the reducing agent. The improved procedure resulted particularly useful in the synthesis of deuterated building blocks of biological interest.

Key word

reductions - deoxygenation - hydrides - phenols - hydrogenations