Addition of silanes to benzaldehyde catalyzed by KF loaded on alumina

KF loaded on alumina heated under vacuum at 673 K (KF/Al2O3) quantitatively gave benzyloxytriethylsilane by addition of triethylsilane to benzaldehyde at 303 K in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). KF/Al2O3 also catalyzed the reaction of trimethylsilylacetonitrile with benzaldehyde to give 3-phenyl-3-(trimethylsilyloxy)propionitrile with a 81% yield at 313 K in tetrahydrofuran (THF) while it gave cinnamonitrile with a 61% yield in DMF, along with trimethylsilanol. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.