MCM-41 mesoporous silica: a highly efficient and recoverable catalyst for rapid synthesis of α-aminonitriles and imines

In this work, pure MCM-41 mesoporous silica with active mesoporous sites has been successfully applied, as a highly efficient and recoverable catalyst, for the rapid and convenient synthesis of -aminonitriles and imines. Various imines, as the intermediate of the Strecker reaction, were simply prepared from condensation of a wide range of aldehydes and amines in the presence of low loading of MCM-41 mesoporous silica under solvent-free conditions at room temperature in high to quantitative yields. Furthermore, the corresponding -aminonitrile derivatives were prepared through the three-component Strecker reaction using trimethylsilylcyanide catalyzed by MCM-41 as a bifunctional heterogeneous mesoporous solid catalyst.