“…Low cost, ease of handling and high stability make this reagent more attractive in the laboratory as well as in the industry compared to other reducing agents. Various coupling reagents such as (benzotriazol‐1‐yloxy)tris(dimethylamino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (BOP), tetramethylfluoroformamidinium hexafluorophosphate (TFFH)/ benzyltriphenylphosphonium dihydrogen trifluoride (PTF), 2,4,6‐trichloro‐1,3,5‐triazine (TCT), cyanuric fluoride, 1,1‐carbonyldiimidazole, sulfonylbenzotriazole derivatives, 1‐propanephosphonic acid cyclic anhydride and 3,4,5‐trifluorophenylboronic acids have been used as acid activators in combination with NaBH 4 to attain the direct reduction of carboxylic acids into the β ‐amino alcohols under mild conditions. However, cost, the requirement of harsh conditions and toxic chemicals in the preparation of these reagents, non‐recyclability, inability in suppressing the racemization satisfactorily and difficulty in removing the by‐products remain as the bottleneck for the convenient use of these reagents.…”