Alcohols can be prepared by reduction of aldehydes, ketones, esters and other carbonyl containing compounds. There are dozens of reagents such as LiAlH4, BaBH4, DIBAL for reducing carbonyls to alcohols. Each of these reagents has advantages and disadvantages. Some are very powerful while others are more selective.
The specifics of these reagents and their mechanism of carbonyl reductions is covered in this post.
In the following practice problems, we will work on the reduction of carbonyl compounds to alcohols:
