Reductive Deoxygenation of Alcohols: Catalytic Methods Beyond Barton–McCombie Deoxygenation

Deoxygenation is an extensively studied field in organic chemistry, and over the last decades many methods such as the Barton–McCombie deoxygenation reaction or deoxygenation with alkali metals in liquid ammonia have been established. Within this microreview, we discuss different strategies for the chemoselective catalytic deoxygenation of alcohols with special attention to their scope and limitations. The deoxygenation of derivatives of alcohols and their direct deoxygenation as step‐economic alternative are covered with current examples. Catalytic methods can serve as convenient and economic alternatives for established methods in the reduction of carbon–oxygen single bonds.