Highly efficient reduction of carbonyls, azides, and benzyl halides by NaBH4 in water catalyzed by PANF-immobilized quaternary ammonium salts

Abstract

A series of polyacrylonitrile fiber-supported quaternary ammonium salts (PANF-QAS) were prepared and applied to the catalytic reduction of aldehydes, ketones, azides, and benzyl halides in water using NaBH₄ as the reducing reagent in a highly efficient, economic, and environmentally benign way. The structure–activity relationships were investigated, which showed that the catalysts made up of quaternary ammonium salts with longer alkyl chains, larger cationic radii and better lipophilicity speed up the reduction reaction to afford the products in excellent yield. Moreover, the optimized catalyst can be applied to the reduction of 1-naphthaldehyde in a continuous flow process with outstanding reactivity and recyclability.