Synthesis of 1,2-phenylenedimethanols by base-promoted reduction of isobenzofuran-1(3H)-ones with silane

An efficient method for preparation of substituted 1,2-phenylenedimethanols and aliphatic 1,4-diols that are valuable intermediates in organic synthesis, has been developed by the base-promoted reduction of isobenzofuran-1(3H)-ones and γ-lactones with silane under mild conditions. Compared with traditional procedures using stoichiometric amounts of metal hydrides and alkyl reductants, the present method avoids the use of sensitive reagents and is operationally simple and a broad variety of functional groups are tolerated.