Lithium Triethylborohydride

Lithium triethylborohydride (LiEt₃BH), commonly abbreviated to LiETBH or Superhydride, is a powerful and selective reducing agent used in inorganic and organic chemistry. LiTEBH is far more powerful than lithium borohydride and more powerful than lithium aluminium hydride (LAH) in many cases. One of the main advantages of LiTEBH is that it is safer than LAH.

LiTEBH rapidly reduces:

1. Aldehydes, ketones, acid chlorides and esters to alcohols
2. Lactones to diols
3. Acid anhydrides to alcohols
4. α,β-enones by 1,4-addition to give lithium enolates
5. Disulfides to thiols
6. Tertiary amides to an alcohol