Nickel-Catalyzed Cyanation of Phenol Derivatives with Zn(CN)2 Involving C-O Bond Cleavage

J Org Chem. 2018 Nov 16;83(22):14036-14048. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.8b02498. Epub 2018 Oct 22.

Abstract

An efficient nickel-catalyzed cyanation of aryl sulfonates, fluorosulfonates, and sulfamates with Zn(CN)2 was developed, which provides a facile access to the nitrile products in generally good to excellent yields. The reaction is accomplished by using NiII complex as the precatalyst and DMAP as the additive. The method also displays wide functional group compatibility; for example, keto, methoxy, N, N-dimethylamino, cyano, ester, and pyridyl groups are well-tolerated during the reaction process.