The reduction reaction of a number of benzophenones with sodium borohy
dride in the solid state was studied, This type of organic solid-state
reaction, avoiding a solvent, can be useful in chemical synthesis, Th
e reaction was followed by in situ X-ray powder diffractometry and by
H-1 NMR spectroscopy on subsequently taken aliquots. We found a strong
dependence of the reaction rate on the water content of the mixture a
nd on the type of benzophenone.