Cyanide cyanoformic esters

Cyanoformate esters may be prepared through reaction of alkyl chloroformates with cyanides salts by procedures using phase-transfer catalysis with 18quaternary ammonium salts (Ref. 44) according to scheme 46. 

Optically pure cyanohydrins serve as highly versatile synthetic building blocks [24], Much effort has, therefore, been devoted to the development of efficient catalytic systems for the enantioselective cyanation of aldehydes and ketones using HCN or trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) as a cyanide source [24], More recently, cyanoformic esters (ROC(O)CN), acetyl cyanide (CH3C(0)CN), and diethyl cyanophosphonate have also been successfully employed as cyanide sources to afford the corresponding functionalized cyanohydrins. It should be noted here that, as mentioned in Chapter 1, the cinchona alkaloid catalyzed asymmetric hydrocyanation of aldehydes discovered... 

By using cyanoformate esters as electrophiles, Johnson and coworkers were able to employ catalytic amounts of the cyanide initiator in reactions with acyl silanes. This process led to carbon-carbon bond formation via C-acylation. For example, acyl silane 61 and ethylcyanoformate combined under these conditions to provide the tertiary alcohol silyl ether 62 in nearly quantitative yield. Johnson s group has also developed an asymmetric version of this process, utilizing the Jacobsen (salen)aluminum system as a chiral carrier for the cyanide anion. ... 

Due to the high price of trimethylsilyl cyanide, access to alternative cyanation reagents is desirable. In this regard, cyanoformate esters (CNCO2R) have been employed, providing direct access to O-alkojycarbonyl-functionalised cyanohydrins, which are stable and not easily hydrolysed by moisture in air. Moreover, they are useful synthetic intermediates and can be applied in the synthesis of a-amino alcohols and (3-substituted unsaturated nitriles from O-carbonylated allylic cyanohydrins. ... 

The mechanism of the Krapcho dealkoxycarbonylation is dependent on the structure of the substrate ester and the type of anion used. In the case of a,a-disubstituted diesters (especially the methyl esters), the anion from the salt (cyanide ion in the scheme) attacks the alkyl group of the ester in an Sn2 fashion and the decarboxylation results in the formation of a carbanionic intermediate that is quenched by the water. In the case of a-monosubstituted diesters the cyanide attacks the carbonyl group to form a tetrahedral intermediate, which breaks down to give the same carbanionic intermediate and a cyanoformate, which is hydrolyzed to give carbon dioxide and an alcohol. 

Johnson s group developed a catalytic asymmetric cyanation/1,2-Brook rearrangement/C-acylation of acylsilanes with cyanoformates (Scheme 19.14). In the presence of (i ,/ )-(salen)Al 19, the corresponding cyanohydrin trimethylsilyl ethers of a-keto esters were obtained in moderate to good enantioselectivities (61-82% enantiomeric excess). Access to chiral (silyloxy)nitrile anions is facilitated by metal cyanide-promoted Brook rearrangement reaction of acylsilanes. 

Gas volumetric measurements show that tetraethyl ammonium cyanide takes up one molar equivalent of carbon dioxide giving a probable cyanoformate intermediate (88) although evidence for its structure was not obtained. The complex (88) adds to monoactivated olefins to give the salts (89) which can be alkylated to the corresponding esters. The overall transformation is of cyanocarboxylation. The reaction is not successful with doubly activated olefins because of competing... 

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