Applied Catalysis A: General, Vol.384, No.1-2, 147-153, 2010
Activation of trimethylsilyl cyanide and mechanistic investigation for facile cyanosilylation by solid acid catalysts under mild and solvent-free conditions
Sulfated-zirconia is found to be a highly efficient heterogeneous solid catalyst in activating trimethylslyl cyanide (TMSCN) for facile cyanosilylation of aldehydes. A unifying explanation is provided for the cyanosilylation reactions. The unique role of sulfated-zirconia consists of rendering cyanide anions from TMSCN to C=O of aldehydes and providing the corresponding cyanohydrin silyl ethers in quantitative yields under mild and solvent-free conditions. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Cyanosilylation;Sulfated-zirconia;Mechanistic investigations;Solid acids;Solvent-free synthesis