Variable-scale syntheses of coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols 2a,b have become increasingly important in recent years due to the usefulness of these lignin monomers in preparing synthetic lignins and lignin model compounds (Sarkanen and Ludwig, 1971; Adler, 1977; Landucci, 1995; Landucci et al., 1981; Helm and Ralph, 1992; Ralph et al., 1992a,b). In the past, reduction of ethyl ferulate and ethyl sinapate with lithium aluminum hydride (Allen and Byers, 1949; Freudenberg ...
