Abstract

Cesium fluoride (CsF) catalyzes the addition of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) to various aldehydes. Aromatic, aliphatic, cyclic and heterocyclic aldehydes have been converted into the corresponding trimethylsilyl ethers. Most of the aldehydes show over 99% yield for 20min. The mechanism of silylcyanation has been proposed.

Keywords: silylcyanation, aldehydes, tmscn, cesium fluoride