Iron(II) Phthalocyanine-Catalyzed Olefination of Aldehydes with Diazoacetonitrile: A Novel Approach to Construct Alkenyl Nitriles

Abstract

A novel synthetic approach to preparing alkenyl nitriles via the olefination of aldehydes with diazoacetonitrile catalyzed by iron(II) phthalocyanine in the presence of PPh 3 has been developed. A broad variety of aldehydes are efficiently transformed into the corresponding products with the high yields of 75%−97%. And it is also suitable for its gram-scale preparation. The suggested mechanism involves the transformation of the phosphazine to ylide by iron(II) phthalocyanine.