Q. Which of the following is a better reducing agent for the following reduction? $\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ RCOOH \rightarrow RCH_{2}OH$
A) $SnCl_{2}/HCl$
B) $NaBH_{4}/$ether
C) $H_{2}/Pd$
D) $B_{2}H_{6}/H_{3}O^{+}$
Explanation
(d)
Carboxylic acids when treated with either diborane or LAH, get reduced to primary alcohols. Diborane is a better reagent than LAH for such conversion, as it does not affect other functional groups such as ester, intro, holo etc.
$R - COOH + B_{2}H_{6}\overset{\rightarrow}{H_{3}O^{+}\ \ \ \ \ }R - CH_{2}OH$
Reviewed by Dr. Abubacker
Physics Educator & NEET/JEE Specialist
Ph.D. in Physics with 19+ years of teaching experience.