A single-step, mild, neutral, catalyst-free method for cyanohydrin synthesis

Abstract  

A wide variety of carbonyl compounds can be transformed to their corresponding cyanohydrins in a single step using a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)–water system in excellent yields (75–94%). The major advantages of this system are that the reaction conditions are mild and neutral; the reaction proceeds without catalyst and gives the corresponding cyanohydrins in short time (15–120 min).