Practical CuCl/DABCO/4-HO-TEMPO-catalyzed oxidative synthesis of nitriles from alcohols with air as oxidant

A mild and efficient methodology for the direct oxidative synthesis of nitriles from easily available alcohols and aqueous ammonia by employing CuCl/DABCO/4-HO-TEMPO as the catalysts is described. This protocol uses the air as a green oxidant and aqueous ammonia as the nitrogen source at room temperature. A variety of aryl, heterocyclic and allylic alcohols are smoothly converted into the corresponding nitriles in good to excellent yields.