Chemistry Letters, Vol.34, No.7, 1054-1055, 2005
Iron-catalyzed silylcyanation of aldehydes and ketones with silyl cyanide prepared from silane and acetonitrile
Silyleyanation of aldehyde or ketone was performed in a solution involving Et3SiCN produced by photoreaction of Et3SiH with MeCN in the presence of a catalytic amount of CP(CO)(2)FeMe (CP = C5H5). The iron complex derived from Cp(CO)(2)FeMe serves as a catalyst both for C-C bond cleavage of MeCN and concomitant Si-C bond formation and for Si-C bond cleavage in silylcyanation. The catalytic reaction mechanism has been discussed.