Copper-mediated cyanation of aryl boronic acids using benzyl cyanide

An efficient copper-mediated synthesis of aryl nitriles from aryl boronic acids has been achieved using benzyl cyanide as a user-friendly cyanide source. Various aryl boronic acids underwent the reaction smoothly, affording the corresponding aryl nitriles in moderate to good yields. tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) was found to be a critical agent facilitating the cyanation reaction.     

Copper-catalyzed direct cyanation of terminal alkynes with benzoyl cyanide

Copper-catalyzed direct cyanation of terminal alkynes is achieved using less toxic, stable and easy to handle benzoyl cyanide as a cyanide source and air as an oxidant. This protocol provides a good alternative to the preparation of 3-arylpropiolonitriles under mild condition.     

Palladium-assisted regioselective C-h cyanation of heteroarenes using isonitrile as cyanide source

A palladium-catalyzed regioselective C-H cyanation of heteroarenes was achieved using tert-butyl isocyanide as "CN" source, which provides a new and unique strategy for the preparation of (hetero)aryl nitriles. Indoles, pyrroles, and aromatic rings could be efficiently cyanated through C-H bond activation with high regioselectivity.     

Copper-catalyzed cyanation of aryl iodide with the combined cyanide source of urea and DMSO

A simple copper-catalyzed cyanation of aryl iodide with the combination of urea and dimethyl sulfoxide as a cyanide source is achieved, providing nitriles in moderate to good yields. This new approach represents an exceedingly practical and safe method for the synthesis of aryl nitriles.     

Copper-catalyzed cyanation of benzyl chlorides with non-toxic K4[Fe(CN)6]

Copper-based catalysts were firstly introduced into the cyanation of benzyl chlorides with non-toxic K₄[Fe(CN)₆]. The presented method avoids the use of extremely poisonous alkali cyanides and precious palladium catalysts. No other reagent apart from CuI, K₄[Fe(CN)₆] and toluene was used in the cyanation, showing that the presented protocol is simple and practical. A series of benzyl chlorides were smoothly cyanated in up to 85% yield under the optimal conditions.     

Dual Lewis acid-Lewis base activation in enantioselective cyanation of aldehydes using acetyl cyanide and cyanoformate as cyanide sources

Dual activation by a chiral Lewis acid and an achiral or chiral Lewis base enabled cyanation of both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with acetyl cyanide and ethyl cyanoformate to provide direct access to O-acetylated and O-alkoxycarbonylated cyanohydrins, respectively, under mild conditions. With a combination of a Ti-salen catalyst and Et3N, benzaldehyde was converted to the O-acetylated cyanohydrin with 94% ee within 10 h at -40 degrees C in 89% isolated yield.     

Copper-catalyzed direct amination of electron-deficient arenes with hydroxylamines

The C-H amination of electron-deficient arenes such as polyfluoroarenes and azole compounds with O-acylated hydroxylamines effectively proceeds in the presence of a copper catalyst even at room temperature to provide the corresponding anilines and aminoazoles in good yields.     

Palladium-catalyzed cyanation of propargylic carbonates with trimethylsilyl cyanide

[reaction: see text]An equimolar mixture of propargylic carbonate (1) and trimethylsilyl cyanide (2) in THF under reflux affords cyanoallene (3) in the presence of a catalytic amount (5 mol %) of Pd(PPh3)4. In the reaction, the trimethylsilyl moiety of 2 effectively traps the leaving group of 1. The use of 2 in excess (6 equiv) provides dicyanated products (7 or 8) in high yields.     

Aramidocalix[4]arenes as new anion receptors

Calix[4]arenes bearing aromatic amide (aramid) moieties at the upper rim display interesting recognition properties toward anions and in particular versus planar trigonal nitrate and Y-shaped benzoate. Molecular modeling and DFT calculations indicate that the high affinity displayed by aramidocalix[4]arenes 3 and 4 for nitrate anion is likely due to the planar arrangement of the NH groups, which form an unusual six-hydrogen-bond scheme with nitrate anion.     

Palladium-catalyzed cyanation of porphyrins utilizing cyanoethylzinc bromide as an efficient cyanide ion source

Palladium-catalyzed cyanation of bromoporphyrins is now realized using cyanoethylzinc bromide as a specific cyanating agent. This new protocol provides an easy access to various cyanated Zn(II) porphyrins, including meso-mono-, meso-di-, and beta-mono-cyano-substituted Zn(II) complexes. [reaction: see text]     

Electronic spectra of paramethoxy benzyl alcohol and parachloro benzyl cyanide

The electronic absorption spectra of paramethoxy benzyl alcohol (pmba) and parachloro benzyl cyanide (pcbc) are described. The broad features of the spectra of the molecules are consistent with allowed transition forC _2v symmetry. However, the solid state and glass matrix spectra of pmba at 77K indicate possible deviation from planarity in the structure of the molecule. In pcbc, it is pointed out that intensity borrowing may be responsible for the large intensity of the vibrationally-induced part of the spectra, in which non-totally symmetric vibrations are excited.     

Highly sensitive cyanide anion detection with a coumarin-spiropyran conjugate as a fluorescent receptor

A coumarin-spiropyran conjugate (2) shows a CN(-)-selective fluorescence enhancement under UV irradiation. This enables accurate determination of very low levels of CN(-) (>0.5 μM).     

Selective and efficient liquid membrane transport of gold as gold cyanide using an anion carrier

The facilitated transport of Au(III) from cyanide solutions through a bulk liquid membrane is reported. The organic phase consisted of a chloroform solution containing Victoria blue dye as the Au(CN)⁻₄ carrier. The effects of pH of source phase, potassium cyanide concentration in source phase, Victoria blue concentration in the organic phase and sodium hydroxide in the receiving phase on the efficiency of transport process were examined. Under optimum conditions the extent of Au(CN)⁻₄ transport across the liquid membrane was about 97% after 180 min. The carrier can selectively and efficiently transport Au(CN)⁻₄ ion from the aqueous solutions containing other cations such as alkali and alkaline earth, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, Ag⁺, Co²⁺, Fe²⁺, Pt²⁺, Pd²⁺ and Ni²⁺.     

Copper-mediated cyanation of aryl halide with the combined cyanide source

A simple copper-mediated cyanation of aryl halide with the combination of ammonium bicarbonate and N,N-dimethylformamide as a cyanide source is achieved, providing nitriles in moderate to good yields. This new approach represents an exceedingly practical and safe method for the synthesis of aryl nitriles.     

Aerobic ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines with sodium cyanide

RuCl3-catalyzed oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines with sodium cyanide under molecular oxygen (1 atm) at 60 degrees C gives the corresponding alpha-aminonitriles, which are versatile synthetic intermediates of various compounds such as amino acids and unsymmetrical 1,2-diamines, in excellent yields. This reaction is clean and should be an environmentally benign and useful process.     

Molecular iodine-catalyzed benzylation of arenes with benzyl alcohols

A novel molecular iodine-catalyzed benzylation of arenes with benzyl alcohols has been developed. The reaction can be carried out under mild conditions to afford a series of diarymethane derivatives in high yields and good regioselectivities.     

Copper-catalyzed cyanoisopropylation of beta-keto esters using azos: synthesis of beta-dicarbonyls bearing an alfa-tertiary nitrile moiety

A copper-catalyzed α-cyanoisopropylation reaction of β-keto esters using azo compounds as cyanoalkylating agents is presented, providing an easy access to β-dicarbonyls containing an α-tertiary nitrile moiety with adjacent tertiary and quaternary carbon centers. It is remarkable because a tremendous steric conflict is involved during reaction. Such nitriles were otherwise unavailable, and the reaction features simple and relatively mild conditions and good functional-group tolerance.