Copper-catalyzed cyanation of aryl halides with sodium nitroprusside in polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG-400)

Abstract

A simple and efficient CuI/PEG-400 catalytic protocol for the cyanation of aryl halides employing sodium nitroprusside, Na2[Fe(CN)5NO]·2H2O, as a new cyanation reagent was developed. The present cyanation reagent shows higher activity and gave the desired products in yields of up to 96%. In the present protocol, a variety of aryl bromides and iodides were cyanated smoothly with a wide range of substrate scope.