Schmidt reaction in ionic liquids: highly efficient and selective conversion of aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes to nitriles with [BMIM(SO3H)][OTf] as catalyst and [BMIM][PF6] as solvent

Introducing a protic ionic liquid from aminoethyl piperazine and triflic acid immobilized on pectin as a reusable nanocatalyst for the selective Schmidt synthesis of nitriles

Preparation of reusable protic ionic liquid, triflic acid-immobilized aminoethyl piperazine-modified pectin (Pec-AEP-TfOH), with excellent activity and selectivity in modified Schmidt synthesis of nitriles from aldehydes and Si(CH3)3N3 has been described. The structure of the catalyst was characterized using FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDX-mapping, and TGA-DTA. The reaction demonstrated a broad substrate scope for a variety of benzaldehyde derivatives with electron withdrawing/donating substituents and heterocyclic aldehydes with yields between 85 and 96 % at room temperature. Also, the Pec-AEP-TfOH showed an excellent selectivity for the nitriles in which no formanilide was obtained. Furthermore, the Pec-AEP-TfOH revealed a remarkable chemoselectivity for aldehydes in the presence of acids or ketones. It is worth noting that TfOH as a precious superacid was immobilized for the first time in the selective Schmidt synthesis of nitriles to improve the eco-friendliness and economic efficiency of the process. Furthermore, the catalyst was cost-effective, metal-free, safe, scalable, and reusable (5 times) and its heterogeneity was confirmed by hot-filtration test.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Diverse Libraries of Small-Molecule Building Blocks in Ionic Liquids (ILs)

The Account describes recent advances, from the authors’ laboratories, in the synthesis of diverse libraries of small-molecule building blocks employing ionic liquids (ILs). The ability of ILs to act as catalysts/promoters/solvents for electrophilic and onium ion chemistry, as well as in metal-mediated cross-coupling reactions, and the potential to sequence/hyphenate these methods, have opened up new opportunities for facile assembly of functional small molecules with increased complexity from readily available precursors. While Brønsted acidic IL/IL solvent mixtures are suitable media for carbocation and onium ion chemistry, piperidine-appended IL/IL solvent mixtures can successfully catalyze a variety of base-catalyzed reactions. Several widely practiced transformations including ‘name reactions’ were adapted and performed efficiently in ILs.

1 Introduction

2 Aryldiazonium Salts and Aryltriazenes as Coupling Partners in Metal-Mediated C–C Cross-Coupling Reactions in ILs

3 Expanding the Scope of Metal-Mediated Cross-Coupling Reactions in ILs

4 Application of ILs in Synthesis and Functionalization of Hetero­cycles

5 Expanding the Scope of Amide Synthesis in ILs

6 Generation and Chemistry of ‘Tamed’ Propargylic Cations in ILs

7 Newer Nitration Methods for Arenes and Heteroarenes in ILs

8 Halofunctionalization in ILs

9 ‘Name Reactions’and Other Widely Practiced Synthetic Transformations in ILs

9.1 The Biginelli Reaction

9.2 Nitrile Synthesis by the Schmidt Reaction

9.3 Rupe Rearrangement

9.4 Synthesis of 1,3-Dioxanes via Prins Reaction in [BMIM(SO3H)][OTf]

9.5 Synthesis of Cyclopropanes and Oxiranes by the Corey–Chaykovsky (CC) Reaction

10 Conclusions and Closing Remarks

Facile Preparation of Aryl Nitriles from Aryl Aldehydes in PEG-DME 250

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A facie and efficient method for one-pot transformation of aryl aldehydes to aryl nitriles using hydroxylamine hydrochloride and phosphorus tribromide in PEG-DME 250 is reported. The conversion of various aryl aldehydes to the corresponding aryl nitriles occurred smoothly in high yields under the present reaction conditions.

One pot synthesis of aryl nitriles from aromatic aldehydes in a water environment

In this study, we found a green method to obtain aryl nitriles from aromatic aldehyde in water. This simple process was modified from a conventional method. Compared with those approaches, we used water as the solvent instead of harmful chemical reagents. In this one-pot conversion, we got twenty-five aryl nitriles conveniently with pollution to the environment being minimized. Furthermore, we confirmed the reaction mechanism by capturing the intermediates, aldoximes.

In a formic acid–H₂O solution (60% : 40%), most aromatic aldehydes react efficiently with hydroxylamine hydrochloride and sodium acetate to form nitriles, where formic acid acts as both catalyst and solvent.

Expanding Access to Remdesivir via an Improved Pyrrolotriazine Synthesis: Supply Centered Synthesis

Pyrrolotriazine 1 is an important precursor to remdesivir. Initial results toward an efficient synthesis are disclosed consisting of sequential cyanation, amination, and triazine formation beginning from pyrrole. This route makes use of highly abundant, commoditized raw material inputs. The yield of triazine was doubled from 31% to 59%, and the synthetic step count was reduced from 4 to 2. These efforts help to secure the remdesivir supply chain.

Direct Synthesis of Nitriles from Aldehydes and Hydroxylamine Hydrochloride Catalyzed by a HAP@AEPH2-SO3H Nanocatalyst

We describe an efficient method for the direct preparation of nitriles from aldehydes and hydroxylamine hydrochloride catalyzed by sulfonated nanohydroxyapatite functionalized by 2-aminoethyl dihydrogen phosphate (HAP@AEPH2-SO3H) as an eco-friendly and recyclable solid acid nanocatalyst. In this protocol the use of a solid acid nanocatalyst provides a green, useful, and rapid method for the preparation of nitriles in excellent yields. In addition, the notable feature of this methodolgy is that the synthesized nanocatalyst can be recovered and reused five times without any noticeable loss of efficiency.

Improved Schmidt Conversion of Aldehydes to Nitriles Using Azidotrimethylsilane in 1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoro-2-propanol

The Schmidt reaction of aromatic aldehydes using a substoichiometric amount (40 mol %) of triflic acid is described. Low catalyst loading was enabled by a strong hydrogen-bond-donating solvent hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP). This improved protocol tolerates a broad scope of aldehydes with diverse functional groups and the corresponding nitriles were obtained in good to high yields without the need for aqueous work up.

Copper-catalyzed aerobic conversion of the CO bond of ketones to a CN bond using ammonium salts as the nitrogen source

The copper-catalyzed conversion of the CO bond of ketones to a CN bond is described using ammonium salts as the nitrogen source in the presence of molecular oxygen.