NaBH4 (82 mg, 2.3 mmol, 1.0 eq.) was added in batches to a stirred solution of 5-nitropyridine-2-carbaldehyde (350 mg, 2.3 mmol, 1.0 eq.) in methanol (10 mL) at 0 °C, keeping the reaction temperature at 0 °C and stirring continuously for 2 hours. After the reaction was completed, the solvent was removed by evaporation under reduced pressure, the residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate (20 mL), the organic phase was washed with saturated brine (30 mL), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to give (5-nitropyridin-2-yl)methanol (210 mg, 60% yield) as a light yellow solid.
