Patent ID: 8524953

Claim:
A method for producing an alcohol, the method comprising the step of reducing an ester or a lactone with hydrogen to produce a corresponding alcohol without addition of a base compound in the presence of, as a catalyst, a ruthenium complex represented by the following general formula (1): RuH(X)(L 1 )(L 2 ) (1) wherein X represents BH 4 , L 1 and L 2 each represent a bidentate ligand represented by the following general formula (3): wherein R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 10 and R 11 , which may be same or different, each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, an aralkyl group which may have a substituent, or a cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent, R 7 and R 8 , R 7 and R 9 , R 8 and R 9 , or R 10 and R 11 may bond to each other to form a ring, and Q 3 represents a divalent arylene group which may have a substituent, an alkylene group which may have a substituent, or a bond.