Mozingo reduction


The Mozingo reduction, also known as Mozingo reaction or thioketal reduction, is a chemical reaction capable of fully reducing a ketone or aldehyde to the corresponding alkane. The reaction scheme is as follows:
The ketone or aldehyde is activated by conversion to dithioacetal by reaction with a dithiol. The dithioacetal structure is then hydrogenolyzed using Raney nickel. Raney nickel is converted irreversibly to nickel sulfide. This method is milder than either the Clemmensen or Wolff-Kishner reductions, which employ strongly acidic or basic conditions, respectively, that might interfere with other functional groups.