Recent Trends in the Iron‐Catalyzed Cyanation Reactions

Electrochemical Cyanation of Alcohols Enabled by an Iodide-Mediated Phosphine P(V/III) Redox Couple

We report herein a mild electrochemical method to transform alcohols into their corresponding nitriles by using commercially available reagents. This protocol accepts substrates with various functional groups including those that are susceptible to oxidative decomposition. Mechanistic studies revealed a critical iodide-mediated phosphine electrochemical oxidation pathway leading to the alkoxyphosphonium intermediate, followed by nucleophilic substitution by a cyanide nucleophile. This method demonstrates the use of electrochemistry in replacing azo-type reagents in direct nucleophilic substitution and homologation of alcohol substrates.

The untold story of starch as a catalyst for organic reactions

Starch is one of the members of the polysaccharide family. This biopolymer has shown many potential applications in different fields such as catalytic reactions, water treatment, packaging, and food industries. In recent years, using starch as a catalyst has attracted much attention. From a catalytic point of view, starch can be used in organic chemistry reactions as a catalyst or catalyst support. Reports show that as a catalyst, simple starch can promote many heterocyclic compound reactions. On the other hand, functionalized starch is not only capable of advancing the synthesis of heterocycles but also is a good candidate catalyst for other reactions including oxidation and coupling reactions. This review tries to provide a fair survey of published organic reactions which include using starch as a catalyst or a part of the main catalyst. Therefore, the other types of starch applications are not the subject of this review.

Cyanation with isocyanides: recent advances and perspectives

Cyanation has attracted considerable attention in organic synthesis because nitriles are key structural motifs in numerous important dyes, agrochemicals, natural products and drug molecules. As the fourth generation of cyanating reagents, isocyanides occupy a prominent place in the synthesis of nitriles due to their favorable stability, easy operability and high reactivity. In recent years, three types of cyanation with isocyanides have been established: the cleavage of the C-NC bond of tertiary alkyl isocyanides (Type I), the rearrangement of aryl isocyanides with azides (Type II), and the reductive cyanation of ketones with α-acidic isocyanides (Type III). This review focuses on advances in cyanation with isocyanides with an emphasis on reaction scope, limitations and mechanisms, which could reveal their remarkable value and superiority for accessing various nitriles. In addition, the future development prospects of this specific field are also introduced. We believe that this feature article will serve as a comprehensive tool to navigate cyanation with isocyanides across the vast area of synthetic chemistry.

Polyaromatic Group Embedded Cd(II)-Coordination Polymers for Microwave-Assisted Solvent-Free Strecker-Type Cyanation of Acetals

In this work, two new 1D Cd(II) coordination polymers (CPs), [Cd(L1)(NMF)₂]_n (1) and [Cd(L2)(DMF)(H₂O)₂]_n·n(H₂O) (2), have been synthesized, characterized and employed as catalysts for the microwave-assisted solvent-free Strecker-type cyanation of different acetals. Solvothermal reaction between the pro-ligand, 5-{(pyren-1-ylmethyl)amino}isophthalic acid (H₂L1) or 5-{(anthracen-9-ylmethyl)amino}isophthalic acid (H₂L2), and Cd(NO₃)₂.6H₂O in the presence of NMF or DMF:THF solvent, produces the coordination polymer 1 or 2, respectively. These frameworks were characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses, ATR-FTIR, elemental and thermogravimetry analysis. Their structural analysis revealed that both CPs show one-dimensional structures, but CP 1 has a 1D double chain type structure whereas CP 2 is a simple one-dimensional network. In CP 1, the dinuclear {Cd₂(COO)₄} unit acts as a secondary building unit (SBU) and the assembly of dinuclear SBUs with deprotonated ligand (L1^2-) led to the formation of a 1D double chain framework. In contrast, no SBU was observed in CP 2. To test the catalytic effectiveness of these 1D compounds, the solvent-free Strecker-type cyanation reactions of different acetals in presence of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) was studied with CPs 1 and 2 as heterogenous catalysts. CP 1 displays a higher activity (yield 95%) compared to CP 2 (yield 84%) after the same reaction time. This is accounted for by the strong hydrogen bonding packing network in CP 2 that hampers the accessibility of the metal centers, and the presence of the dinuclear Cd(II) SBU in CP 1 which can promote the catalytic process in comparison with the mononuclear Cd(II) center in CP 2. Moreover, the recyclability and heterogeneity of both CPs were tested, demonstrating that they can be recyclable for at least for four cycles without losing their structural integrity and catalytic activity.

Paired Electrolysis for Decarboxylative Cyanation: 4-CN-Pyridine, a Versatile Nitrile Source

A decarboxylative cyanation of amino acids under paired electrochemical reaction conditions has been developed. 4-CN-pyridine was found to be a new and effective cyanation reagent under catalyst-free conditions. Mechanistic studies support a nucleophilic reaction pathway, and the cyanation protocol can be applied to diverse substrates including N,N-dialkyl aniline and indole derivatives.

Recent advances and perspectives in ruthenium-catalyzed cyanation reactions

The cyanation reaction has achieved rapid progress in recent times. The ability to exhibit multiple oxidation states increased the demand of ruthenium in the field of catalysis. These cyanation reactions have wide application in pharmacological and biological fields. This review gives an overview of the ruthenium-catalyzed cyanation reactions covering literature up to 2021.

Designing and Construction of Polyaromatic Group Containing Cd(II)-based Coordination Polymers for Solvent-free Strecker-type Cyanation of Acetals

In the present work, we have synthesized and characterized two novel Cd(II) coordination polymers, [Cd4(L1)4(DMF)6]n.3n(DMF) (1) and [Cd2(L2)2(DMF)3]n.2n(DMF) (2), and studied their catalytic application. They were synthesized via solvothermal reaction...

Cyanation of glycine derivatives

We report a catalytic oxidative C-H cyanation of glycine derivatives using a simple copper(i) catalyst with NFSI as an oxidant via a radical process to furnish α-cyano glycine derivatives, which are useful intermediates for organic synthesis. CuCl acted as both a one-electron reductant and a transition-metal catalyst in this transformation. NFSI served as a one-electron oxidant and generated a N-centered radical as a H-abstractor. The reaction displayed broad substrate scope and mild reaction conditions.

Iron-Catalyzed α-C-H Cyanation of Simple and Complex Tertiary Amines

This manuscript details the development of a general and mild protocol for the α-C-H cyanation of tertiary amines and its application in late-stage functionalization. Suitable substrates include tertiary aliphatic, benzylic, and aniline-type substrates and complex substrates. Functional groups tolerated under the reaction conditions include various heterocycles and ketones, amides, olefins, and alkynes. This broad substrate scope is remarkable, as comparable reaction protocols for α-C-H cyanation frequently occur via free radical mechanisms and are thus fundamentally limited in their functional group tolerance. In contrast, the presented catalyst system tolerates functional groups that typically react with free radicals, suggesting an alternative reaction pathway. All components of the described catalyst system are readily available, allowing implementation of the presented methodology without the need for lengthy catalyst synthesis.