Tetrahedron Letters

Pd-catalyzed cyanation of benzyl chlorides with nontoxic K 4 [Fe (CN) 6]

Y Ren, M Yan, S Zhao, Y Sun, J Wang, W Yin, Z Liu

Index: Ren, Yunlai; Yan, Mengjie; Zhao, Shuang; Sun, Yanpei; Wang, Jianji; Yin, Weiping; Liu, Zhifei Tetrahedron Letters, 2011 , vol. 52, # 39 p. 5107 - 5109

Full Text: HTML

Citation Number: 19

Abstract

Non-toxic K4 [Fe (CN) 6] was demonstrated to be effective as a green cyanating agent for the cyanation of alkyl halides using PPh3/Pd (OAc) 2 as a catalyst system. The presented method allowed a series of benzyl chlorides to be smoothly cyanated in up to 88% yield. In order to avoid or suppress the deactivation of the catalyst, the reaction was required to be performed in a stringent inert ambiance.