1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate as a highly efficient organocatalyst for cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds with trimethylsilyl cyanide

Abstract

1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate is introduced as a robust organocatalyst for solvent-free cyanosilylation of carbonyl compounds with trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN). The catalyst loading can be reduced to as low as 0.1-0.0001 mol % under mild reaction conditions, giving considerably high TOF values from 10,843 h-1 to 10,602,410 h-1 in the field of organocatalyzed transformations. The present protocol not only tolerates with extensive carbonyl compounds but also provides somewhat insight into the mechanism of ionic liquids (ILs)-catalyzed reactions.