Activation of TMSCN by N-Heterocyclic Carbenes for Facile Cyanosilylation of Carbonyl Compounds

摘要

N-Heterocyclic carbenes were found to be highly effective organocatalysts in activating TMSCN for facile cyanosi-lylation of carbonyl compounds.Cyano transfer from TMSCN to aldehydes and ketones proceeds at room temperature in the presence of only 0.01-0.5 mol % of N-heterocyclic carbene(1),leading to a range of trimethyl-silylated cyanohydrins in very good to excellent yields.These conditions are extremely mild and simple and tolerate various functional groups.