Question

How can you reduce imines?

Answer 1

How do you reduce anything....?

Explanation:

The most convenient means is likely heating at reflux with lithal in THF...there are all sort of hydride transfer agents...including dihydrogen. Probably the most potent is `LiAlH_4`, which can transfer up to four equiv of hydride. Most organic chemists use this 1:1. And so water work-up is problematic if the reagent is used in multigram quantities.

In preparative chemistry with molar quantities of substrate it is often useful to treat `LiAlH_4` as capable of delivering THREE hydrides, and adjust the molar equivalence proportionally (just to note that the PURE reagent could deliver FOUR hydrides). Water workup at the end of the reaction is then not so hair-raising.