Wolf-Kishner's Reduction

 Wolff-Kishner Reduction

Reaction of an aldehyde or ketone with excess hydrazine generates a hydrazone derivative, which on heating with base gives the corresponding hydrocarbon. A high-boiling hydroxylic solvent, such as diethylene glycol, is commonly used to achieve the temperatures needed. The following diagram shows how this reduction may be used to convert cyclopentanone to cyclopentane. A second example, in which an aldehyde is similarly reduced to a methyl group, also illustrates again the use of an acetal protective group. The mechanism of this useful transformation involves tautomerization of the initially formed hydrazone to an azo isomer.

Mechanism