typical reducing agents include sodium borohydride lithium borohydride and sodium triacetoxyborohydride alternatively catalytic hydrogenation or other reducing agents known in the art can be applied nabh 4 reductions are conveniently carried out in an organic solvent for example alcoholic solvents such as methanol ethanol propanol or ethers such as thf diethyl ether or dimethoxyethane or a mixture of the mentioned solvents aprotic solvents are required for more reactive hydride transfer reagents the reaction is carried out at a reaction temperature between about u2212 10 u00b0 c and about 60 u00b0 c preferably at room temperature the reduction reaction can also be carried out as described in textbooks about organic chemistry e g from j march 1992 u201c advanced organic chemistry reactions mechanisms and structure u201d 4 th ed john wiley amp sons the carbinol can then be further derivatized 13 r 13 acyl alkyl aralkyl aryl carbamoyl alternatively the c 4 aldehyde can be converted to an alkene 14 scheme 3 or substituted alkene with a wittig reagent or emmons wadsworth reagent see j w schulenberger and s archer organic reactions wiley amp sons new york 1965 vol 14 chapter 1 pp 1 51 j march advanced organic chemistry 4 th ed john wiley amp sons new york 1992 pp 956 963 the olefination reaction is carried out by procedures similar to those described in.