A robust palladium-catalyzed cyanation procedure: Beneficial effect of zinc acetate

ORGN 164

Ramakrishnan Chidambaram, Process Research and Development, Process Research and Development, Bristol-Myers Squibb, 1 Squibb Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08903
Conditions that insure a more reproducible Pd(0)-mediated procedure to convert aryl bromides to aryl cyanides has been developed that entails the use of zinc dust to keep the Pd in zero oxidation state and zinc acetate to insure high catalytic activity. This procedure is applicable to a wide range of substrates and obviates the need for stringent removal of oxygen from the reaction medium.