Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation of Amino‐ and Amido‐Substituted Acetophenones

The ruthenium‐catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of electron‐rich amino‐substituted acetophenones is reported. Variation of the reductant, ligands, base, and solvent allowed reaction optimization. A key discovery was the use of 1,4‐butanediol as an irreversible reducing agent, which significantly improved the conversion. A range of amino‐ and amido‐substituted aryl ketones were explored, and they all gave the corresponding alcohols in good yield, which demonstrates the wider applicability of this process.