The Bouveault-Blanc reduction is a chemical reaction in which an ester is reduced to primary alcohols using absolute ethanol and sodium metal.[1][2][3]
This reaction is an inexpensive and large-scale alternative to lithium aluminium hydride reduction of esters.
Sodium metal is a single-electron reducing agent, meaning the sodium metal will transfer electrons one at a time. Four sodium atoms are required to fully reduce each ester to alcohols. Ethanol serves as a proton source.