What is the balanced equation of sodium borohydride and 4-tert-butylcyclohexanon

Question

What is the balanced equation of sodium borohydride and 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone? The reduction reaction has the product 4-tert-butylcyclohexanol which is a mixture of cis and trans isomers. Methanol is the solvent, but I don't think that goes into the balanced equation.

Explanation / Answer

I would like to break down the rxn into two steps: [BH4]- is a source of H- and so the first reaction is the formation of H2 and "BH3" [BH4]- + H+ -> "BH3" + H2 "BH3" (actually B2H6 if it persisted any more than a fraction of a second) is instantly hydrolyzed to B(OH)3: "BH3" + 3H2O -> B(OH)3 + 3H2 So the overall rxn is [BH4]- + H+ + 3H2O -> B(OH)3 + 4H2 I thought B(OH)3 would react further with HCl to give [BCl4]- (and H2O) but I've checked and this doesn't occur.

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