Highly efficient one pot electrocatalytic method for transforming alcohols to nitriles

Abstract

A one pot electrocatalytic method was developed for the oxidative transformation of alcohols into nitriles in a two-phase aqueous-organic medium: methylene chloride-aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution. Under the proposed conditions, the catalytic system 4-acetylamino-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl-pyridine base with the participation of ammonium iodide makes it possible to convert a wide range of alcohols into nitriles with good to excellent yields (81-99%) without the use of catalysts based on toxic metals, hazardous reagents and/or oxidizing agents. In the synthesis, ammonium iodide is simultaneously a source of nitrogen and iodine, and also functions as a component of the background electrolyte.