NH₄Br‐Promoted Single‐Step and Transition‐Metal‐Free Conversion of Aldehydes to Nitriles in Ammonia Water

Abstract

A green and general method for the direct transformation of aldehydes to nitriles was developed. This method features a broad scope of substrates including aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic aldehydes, by using I 2 /NH 4 Br in aqueous ammonia. Readily available aldehydes can be smoothly converted to corresponding nitriles in one-step under open air at room temperature for 1-12 hours. This protocol is transition-metalfree and could be applied for the synthesis of various key cyano (CN)-containing molecules.