The Schmidt reaction of aromatic aldehydes using a substoichiometric amount (40 mol %) of triflic acid is described. Low catalyst loading was enabled by a strong hydrogen-bond-donating solvent hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP). This improved protocol tolerates a broad scope of aldehydes with diverse functional groups and the corresponding nitriles were obtained in good to high yields without the nee...

One-pot synthesis of ruthenium hydroxide nanoparticles on magnetic silica is described which involves the in situ generation of magnetic silica (Fe(3)O(4)@SiO(2)) and ruthenium hydroxide immobilization; the hydration of nitriles occurs in high yield and excellent selectivity using this catalyst which proceeds exclusively in aqueous medium under neutral conditions.

Highly efficient method for the preparation of N-tert-butyl amides by reaction of nitriles with tertbutylacetateis described using boron trifluoride etherate in solvent free condition. Selective amidation ofbenzonitrile in the presence of acetonitrile was also achieved.

One of the best-studied plant defense systems, the glucosinolate-myrosinase system of the Brassicales, is composed of thioglucosides known as glucosinolates and their hydrolytic enzymes, the myrosinases. Tissue disruption brings these components together, and bioactive products are formed as a consequence of myrosinase-catalyzed glucosinolate hydrolysis. Among these products, isothiocyanates ha...

Tetrazoles are an important class of heterocycles in a wide range of applications, such as, organocatalysis and transition metal catalysis, propellants, explosives, and perhaps most commonly, as nonclassical isosteres of carboxylic acids in medicinal chemistry. This broad utility has prompted significant effort toward tetrazole synthesis, and notable among these is that of Sharpless, in which a...

The plant growth-regulating activities of the first six members of the homologous series (2:4-dichlorophenoxy) alkanecarboxylie acids and the corresponding amides and nitriles have been assessed in the wheat cylinder, pea curvature, pea segment and tomato-leaf epinasty tests. The breakdown of these compounds when metabolized under standard conditions in wheat coleoptile and pea-stem tissues has...

A practical Pd(PPh3)4/DBU catalytic system for the synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant aminopyridine nitrile intermediates, as well as a variety of other aryl nitriles using non-toxic K4[Fe(CN)6] has been developed. The key features of our new protocol for cyanation lie in that the reaction can be carried out with readily available Pd(PPh3)4 under mild and green conditions, even without the ...