Cyanation catalytic

The nickel-catalyzed transformation of aromatic halides into the corresponding nitriles by reaction with cyanide ions is reported. Both tris(triarylphosphine)nickel(0) complexes and tY2ins-chloro( aryl )bis( triarylphosphine )nickel(II) complexes catalyze the reaction. The influence of solvents, organophos-phines, and substituents on the aromatic nucleus on catalytic cyanation is studied. A mechanism of the catalytic process is suggested based on the study of stoichiometric cyanation of ti3ins-chloro(aryl)bis(triphenylphosphine)nickel-(II) complexes with NaCN and the oxidative addition reaction of Ni[P(C6H5)3]s with substituted aryl halides. 

As reported before, the reaction can be carried out in ethanol by adding quickly a stoichiometric quantity of NaCN after the catalyst and aryl halide additions. In methanol or in dimethylformamide the catalytic cyanation occurs only if the sodium cyanide is added slowly. In benzene, always in the presence of NaCN, the reaction does not occur and complexes 1 can be isolated. 

A comparison of Figures 2 and 4 indicates that substituents have a qualitatively similar effect both on the oxidative addition reaction and on the catalytic cyanation. In both cases in fact there is a change in the slope on passing from electron-withdrawing to electron-releasing substituents. As to the effect of electron-withdrawing substituents, the sensitivity is lower in catalytic cyanation (p = 4.8) than in oxidative addition (p = 8.8) which is what is to be expected on the basis of the substituent effect in stoichiometric cyanation reaction of arylnickel complexes. 

The excess of copper cyanide and the use of a polar, high-boiling point solvent makes the purification of the products difficult. In addition, elevated temperatures (up to 200°C) lower the functional group tolerance. The use of alkali metal cyanides or cyanation reagents such as cyanohydrins, a catalytic amount of copper(I) iodide and kalium iodide, allows a mild, catalytic cyanation of various aryl bromides. 

The kinetic studies of catalytic cyanation of iodobenzene with KCN and reductive elimination from the complexes (diphosphine)Pd(R)(CN)f have been investigated. 

Scheme 6.24 Acetonitrile as a cyano source in catalytic cyanation of aryl bromides.

Takemoto et al. disclosed the catalytic cyanation of nitrones promoted by a diaryl thiourea [70]. Semicatalytic amount of thiourea was employed to activate the nitrone by hydrogen bonding. 

Asymmetric phase-transfer catalytic addition of cyanide to C=N, C=0, and C=C bonds has been recently explored, which has been demonstrated to be an efficient method toward the synthesis of a series of substituted chiral nitriles. In this context, Maraoka and coworkers disclosed an enantioselective Strecker reaction of aldimines by using aqueous KCN [140]. In this system, the chiral quaternary ammonium salts (R)-36e bearing a tetranaphthyl backbone were found to be remarkably efficient catalysts (Scheme 12.25). Subsequently, this phase-transfer-catalyzed asymmetric Strecker reaction was further elaborated by use of a-amidosulfones as precursor of N-arylsulfonyl imines. Interestingly, the reaction could be conducted with a slight excess of potassium cyanide [141] or acetone cyanohydrin [40] as cyanide source, and good to high enantioselectivities were observed. In contrast, the asymmetric phase-transfer-catalytic cyanation of aldehydes led to the cyanation products with only moderate enantioselectivity [142]. 

The iV-( -nitrophcnyl)pipcrazinc-2-carbonitrilc 251 (Y = NBOC) was reductively cyclized to the tricyclic /V-oxides 252 (Y = NBOC) either by catalytic hydrogenation, or by electrochemical reduction. Electrochemical reduction gave lower yield. Compounds 251 were prepared by electrochemical cyanation of the iV-(o-nitrophenyl)piperazine 250. The jV-oxides 252 were further hydrogenated to the 2,3,4,4 ,5,6-hexahydro-l//-pyrazino[l,2- ]quinoxaline 253 (Y = NBOC) (Scheme 46) <2001EJ0987>. 

In addition to this, asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cyclization reactions of nitrones with olefins,40 41 catalytic enantioselective cyanation of aldehydes,42 catalytic enantioselective animation,43 and aza-Michael reactions44 have been reported, and high enantioselectivities are observed. 

Sn(OTf)2 can function as a catalyst for aldol reactions, allylations, and cyanations asymmetric versions of these reactions have also been reported. Diastereoselective and enantioselective aldol reactions of aldehydes with silyl enol ethers using Sn(OTf)2 and a chiral amine have been reported (Scheme SO) 338 33 5 A proposed active complex is shown in the scheme. Catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions using Sn(OTf)2, a chiral diamine, and tin(II) oxide have been developed.340 Tin(II) oxide is assumed to prevent achiral reaction pathway by weakening the Lewis acidity of Me3SiOTf, which is formed during the reaction. 

In a related study, Srivastava and Collibee employed polymer-supported triphenyl-phosphine in palladium-catalyzed cyanations [142]. Commercially available resin-bound triphenylphosphine was admixed with palladium(II) acetate in N,N-dimethyl-formamide in order to generate the heterogeneous catalytic system. The mixture was stirred for 2 h under nitrogen atmosphere in a sealed microwave reaction vessel, to achieve complete formation of the active palladium-phosphine complex. The septum was then removed and equimolar amounts of zinc(II) cyanide and the requisite aryl halide were added. After purging with nitrogen and resealing, the vessel was transferred to the microwave reactor and irradiated at 140 °C for 30-50 min... 

A typical phase transfer catalytic reaction of the liquid/liquid type is the cyanation of an alkyl halide in an organic phase using sodium or potassium cyanide in an aqueous phase. When these phases are stirred and heated together very little reaction occurs. However, addition of a small amount of crown ether (or cryptand) results in the reaction occurring to yield the required nitrile. The crown serves to transport the cyanide ion, as its ion pair with the complexed potassium cation, into the organic phase allowing the reaction to proceed. 

Complex (J )-140 serves as a chiral Lewis acid and coordinates to the aldehyde at the less hindered /J-face of 141. i e-side cyanation of (J )-141 and the subsequent cleavage of the alkoxide group give the product 142. Because at this stage the catalyst turnover is blocked, the reaction cannot be carried out in a catalytic manner. 

Autoxidation of secondary acetonitriles under phase-transfer catalytic conditions [2] avoids the use of hazardous and/or expensive materials required for the classical conversion of the nitriles into ketones. In the course of C-alkylation of secondary acetonitriles (see Chapter 6), it had been noted that oxidative cleavage of the nitrile group frequently occurred (Scheme 10.7) [3]. In both cases, oxidation of the anionic intermediate presumably proceeds via the peroxy derivative with the extrusion of the cyanate ion [2], Advantage of the direct oxidation reaction has been made in the synthesis of aryl ketones [3], particularly of benzoylheteroarenes. The cyanomethylheteroarenes, obtained by a photochemically induced reaction of halo-heteroarenes with phenylacetonitrile, are oxidized by air under the basic conditions. Oxidative coupling of bromoacetonitriles under basic catalytic conditions has been also observed (see Chapter 6). 

Long-lived homogeneous Pd(0)f4 [L = P(Ph)3] catalysts for the cyanation of aryl chlorides (295) (X = Cl) have been developed, which are activated by cathodic reduction (Scheme 113) [433]. A high temperature, 130 °C, and a high-boihng solvent, dimethylformamide, are required because Pd does not insert into the aryl C—Cl bond at lower temperatures. Cat-alytically inactive metal species formed in undesirable side reactions with cyanide are electrochemically restored to a catalytically... 

Cyanate ester monomers must be stored under dry conditions, because water can react with cyanate ester resins and deliver carbamates as undesired side products (Scheme 2) [186]. Even when the carbamates are only formed in the presence of a catalyst, this catalytic effect can be caused by traces remaining from the monomer synthesis. The formation of carbamates is critical, as they can decompose to amines and CO2. While the amine easily reacts with another cyanate ester, the CO2 can act as a blowing agent and hence leads to uncontrolled porosity during the processing. 

One of the most important approaches to a-amino acids is based on the Strecker reaction. Although there are already a number of catalytic asymmetric variants, the cyanation of imines still challenges modem organic chemists. 

Optically active cyanohydrins are obtained in good selectivity by the nucleophilic attack of cyanating reagents to chiral acetals.(21) However, the chiral auxiliaries are destroyed, and not recovered. In catalytic processes with chiral boryl compounds,(22) D-oxynitrilase,(23) and synthetic peptides,(24) the optical purities of the resulting cyanohydrins are generally not sufficient. 

The concept of CPTC has been applied in a large number of catalytic reactions such as reduction of allyl chlorides with HCOONa, carbonylation of aryl and allyl halides, allylation of aldehydes, cyanation of aryl halides etc.214 For example, Okano et a/.215 reduced l-chloro-2-nonene to afford 1-nonene and... 

Thus transition metal complexes capable of effecting cyanation reactions on aromatic nuclei under mild conditions have been discovered Cassar et al. describe such a catalytic system. The past few years have also seen the discovery of asymmetric catalysis. Asymmetric catalysts contain optically active ligands and, like enzymes, can promote catalytic reactions during which substantial levels of optical activity are introduced into the products. This volume contains examples of asymmetric hydrogenation and asymmetric hydroformylation catalysis in the papers, respectively, by Knowles et al. and Pino et al. 

Side Reactions. There are three secondary reactions which can be observed during cyanation substitutive hydrogenation (Reaction 5) (8, 17, 18, 19) aryl dimerization (Reaction 6) (8, 17, 18, 19), and catalytic formation of phosphonium salts (Reaction 7) (14). 

In general these reactions do not interefere with cyanation. Reaction 7 is a catalytic process (14) and is strongly favored by electron-releasing substituents on the aromatic halide. In fact in the case of p-aminochloro-benzene, formation of the phosphonium salt competes with the cyanation process. 

Therefore it seems reasonable to assume that cyanation of aryl halides involves two fundamental processes oxidative addition of the tris(triphenylphosphine)nickel complex on the aromatic halide (Reaction 2) and cyanation of the arylnickel(II) complex 1 (Reaction 8). A further proof of the validity of this scheme is that both Ni[P(C6H5)3]3 and arylnickel (II) complexes 1 have an equal catalytic activity, these latter being intermediates of the catalytic process. Recent studies (22) on the influence of substituents on the aromatic halide in the oxidative addition reaction with Ni[P(C6H5)3]3 have given the results shown in Figure 4. 

In 2003, Leadbeater and co-workers reported a related copper iodide mediated cyanation of aryl iodides in water with TBAB as an essential additive57. Stoichiometric quantities of Cul were needed in this protocol, as the use of catalytic quantities resulted in significantly lower yields. 

Cyanation of carbonyl compounds has one of the richest histories of any transformation in the field of asymmetric catalysis, and intensive research efforts have continued unabated since the editorial deadline for the first edition of Comprehensive Asymmetric Catalysis in 1998. This chapter will summarize all efforts in this area from 1998 to date, highlighting the most important catalytic systems from a synthetic and/or mechanistic standpoint. Significant advances in both the cyanation of aldehydes (formation of secondary cyanohydrins Section 28.2.1) and the cyanation of ketones (formation of tertiary cyanohydrins Section 28.2.2) will be addressed [1,2]. 

Finally, several examples of only moderately effective (<75% ee) catalytic enantioselective cyanation of benzaldehyde derivatives have been reported recently [32-37],... 

The cyanation of imines, generally known as the Strecker reaction, has been one of the most aggressively studied transformations of asymmetric catalysis over the past several years. Very recent efforts in this area have resulted in the discovery of several highly efficient catalytic systems capable of providing a-ami-... 

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