β-nitrostyrene was used as a model compound of β-nitroolefines in the study of the selective reduction of carbon-carbon double bond with potassium borohydride.The reaction condition affected greatly the reaction result

but the substitutive groups of the carbon-carbon double bond affected little the reaction result.Potassium borohydride was a good reductive reagent to reduce selectively the carbon-carbon double bond of β-nitrostyrene.The optimum condition was determined.Thus

using tetrafuran-ethanol as reaction medium

adding the solution of β-nitrostyrene to potassium borohydride

mole ratio n（β-nitrostyrene）∶n(KBH

4

) = 1∶2

stirring for 4 h at 50 ℃

the yield amounted to 93.6%（based on β-nitrostyrene）.