Ajmeera Sriram, Golagani Durga, Akondi Srirama Murthy
Department of Organic Synthesis and Process Chemistry, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad-500007, India.
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad 201002, India.
Org Biomol Chem. 2023 Nov 1;21(42):8482-8487. doi: 10.1039/d3ob01481a.
A cyanoalkyl-hydroxylation reaction of aryl alkenes has been successfully devised, employing ferrocene as a catalyst for the addition of a cycloketone oxime ester and HO across the double bond of the alkene. This environmentally friendly approach employs a solvent mixture consisting of water and demonstrates redox neutrality, along with exceptional regio- and chemoselectivity, leading to the formation of diverse distal hydroxy-nitrile compounds. Moreover, this research presents noteworthy contributions in terms of late-stage functionalization of complex molecules and offers valuable insights into the mechanistic aspects of the reaction.
