Potassium iodide catalyzed reductive dehalogenation of α-halo-ketones using Hantzsch ester diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethylpyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate as reductant

In the presence of diethyl 1,4-dihydro-2,6-dimethylpyridine-3,5-dicarboxylate (DHP) and a catalytic amount of potassium iodide, several α-halo ketones were easily reduced to the corresponding ketones in acetone media. The procedure presented here showed several merits such as short reaction time, practical experimental and isolated procedure, and excellent yields of products.