Ammonium Chloride → (4-Bromo-5-methylthiophen-2-yl)methanol

A solution of the compound (1.00 g) obtained in Example 126a in ethanol (20 mL) was cooled in an ice bath, and sodium borohydride (0.28 g) was added. The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hr and cooled in an ice bath. Aqueous saturated ammonium chloride was added, and the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed successively with aqueous saturated ammonium chloride and saturated brine, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by column chromatography (carrier: silica gel, eluent: hexane-ethyl acetate) to give the title compound (0.79 g) as an oil.