Aluminum cyanide

Cyanoanthracene, 50,55 p-Cyanobenzenesulfonamide, reduction with Raney nickel alloy to p-for-mylbenzenesulfonamide, 51,20 p-Cyano-N,N-diethylaniline, 50, S4 Cyanohydrins, formation by use of alkyl-aluminum cyanides, 52, 96... 

The 1,4 conjugate addition of HCN to a, d-unsaturated ketones has received partictUar attention, because of its selectivity in the steroid field [2S). Alkyl aluminum cyanides are used as catalysts in these reactions. Two methods have been developed which allow either thermodynamic (Equation (39 or kinetic control (Equation (40)) of the addition stereochemistry (Nagata reaction). 

For the synthesis of fra/u-P-cyanohydroxy steroids from the corresponding epoxides treatment with HCN/triethyl aluminum or with diethyl aluminum cyanide proved to be particularly useful. ... 

Substituted 2-oxazolidones 165 are useful chiral auxiliaries for diastereoselective functionalization at the a-carbon of their amide carbonyl group. The a-fluoroaldehydes 166 were prepared by a series of reactions electrophilic fluorination of the corresponding oxazolidinone sodium enolates with AMluorobenzenesulfonimine reductive removal of the auxiliary with LiBH4 and Dess-Martin oxidation. The aldehydes are so unstable for isolation that they are converted with (R)-/ -toluenesulfinamide to /7-toluenesul(inimines 167, which are isol-able and satisfactorily enantio-enriched. Chiral sulfinimine-mediated diastereoselective Strecker cyanation with aluminum cyanide provided cyanides 168 in excellent diastereose-lectivity, which were finally derived to 3-fluoroamino acids 169 (see Scheme 9.37) [63]. 

In contrast, a similar reaction with aldehydes at lower temperatures (-78 °C) might not involve such a preformahon of the aluminum cyanide [90]. The reaction had a strong preference for aromahc aldehydes over aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of Me2AlCl (Scheme 6.67). 

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