Aliphatic nitro compounds, reductions, lithium aluminum

Metal Hydrides. Metal hydrides can sometimes be used to prepare amines by reduction of various functional groups, but they are seldom the preferred method. Most metal hydrides do not reduce nitro compounds at all (64), although aliphatic nitro compounds can be reduced to amines with lithium aluminum hydride. When aromatic amines are reduced with this reagent, a2o compounds are produced. Nitriles, on the other hand, can be reduced to amines with lithium aluminum hydride or sodium borohydride under certain conditions. Other functional groups which can be reduced to amines using metal hydrides include amides, oximes, isocyanates, isothiocyanates, and a2ides (64). 

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