Novel Synergistic Catalysis by Ethylcarbodiimide Hydrochloride Salt and CuI Towards Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction

Morita Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of various aldehydes, bearing electron-releasing as well as electron-withdrawing groups with acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate as electron-deficient alkene is reported herein. The cornerstone of the reaction is the utilization of EDC.HCl (a salt) as a novel catalyst, salt gets converted into neutral tertiary amine in the presence of CuI for the synthesis of MBH adduct. Excellent product yield (up to 99 %), ambient reaction conditions, shorter reaction time, and no side product formation are the salient features of the envisaged synthetic protocol.

Automated summary

This study reports on the Morita Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction using various aldehydes with acrylonitrile and methyl acrylate as electron-deficient alkenes. A novel catalyst, EDC.HCl, is utilized in the presence of CuI to synthesize the MBH adduct. The synthetic protocol shows excellent product yield (up to 99%), ambient reaction conditions, shorter reaction time, and no side product formation.