Direct oxidative cyanation of tertiary amines promoted by in situ generated hypervalent iodine(III)-CN intermediate
An environmentally benign and metal-free cyanation method of tertiary amines oxidated by hypervalent iodine(III) intermediate generated in situ from PIFA (or DIB) and TMSCN has been developed. A variety of substituent groups on amines are tolerated to the oxidation of α-C-H bond to form C-C bond in the absence of metal catalysts with yields of up to 74%.