Ligand-accelerated, branch-selective oxidative cyanation of alkenes

A ligand-accelerated, branch-selective oxidative cyanation of alkenes has been developed in the presence of catalytic Cu2O. Both styrenes and aliphatic alkenes with directing groups are well tolerated in this inexpensive protocol. The mild condition allows for a good tolerance of functional groups, enabling facile access to a diverse array of simple and complex branched vinyl nitriles. The wide synthetic utility of this methodology has been further demonstrated via the efficient scaleup in both batch and continuous flow processes. (C) 2018 Science China Press. Published by Elsevier B.V. and Science China Press. All rights reserved.