Beilstein J. Org. Chem.2005,1, No. 8, doi:10.1186/1860-5397-1-8
synthesis of α-aminonitriles.
In continuation of our work to develop new organictransformations, [11][12][13][14][15][16][17] I report herein that cobalt(II) chloride which acts as a mild Lewis acid might be a useful and inexpensive catalyst for the synthesis α-aminonitrile. Although cobalt(II) chloride
has been extensively used as a mild catalyst for a plethora of organictransformations, [18][19][20] there are no examples of the use of cobalt(II) chloride as catalyst for the synthesis of α-aminonitriles.
Results and discussion
The treatment of benzaldehyde and aniline with KCN in the presence of a