Copper-mediated selective cyanation of indoles and 2-phenylpyridines with ammonium iodide and DMF.
Copper-mediated regioselective cyanation of indoles and 2-phenylpyridines was developed by using ammonium iodide and DMF as the combined source of a cyano unit under "Pd-free" conditions. Mechanistic studies indicate that the reaction of indoles proceeds through a two-step sequence: electrophilic initial iodination and then cyanation. The cyanation has a broad substrate scope, high functional group tolerance, and excellent regioselectivity.
Department of Chemistry and Molecular-Level Interface Research Center, Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 305-701, Korea.
Jinho
J
Kim
Hyunwoo
H
Kim
Sukbok
S
Chang