Reduction of Other Carbonyl Compounds

Many carbonyl compounds, including aldehydes and ketones, acids, esters, acid halides, and amides, can be reduced with lithium aluminum hydride. For example, hthium aluminum hydride reduces esters to primary alcohols. 

Sodium borohydride is less reactive than lithium aluminum hydride. It reduces only aldehydes or ketones. Therefore, if both a ketone and an ester functional group are present in a molecule, and the goal is to reduce only the ketone, only sodium borohydride gives the required result. 

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