A Practical and Cost-Efficient, One-Pot Conversion of Aldehydes into Nitriles Mediated by ‘Activated DMSO’

Abstract

Participation of ‘activated DMSO’ in the one-pot transformation of aldehydes to nitriles has been described by reacting aldehydes with NH2OH˙HCl in DMSO in the absence of any added base or catalyst. The method is applicable to access a wide range of aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic nitriles, in which only water is a byproduct. A straightforward and practical procedure is demonstrated on a multigram scale.