Cyanomethylation of the Benzene Rings and Pyridine Rings via Direct Oxidative Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling with Acetonitrile.

A novel and efficient approach for the amine-directed dehydrogenative C(sp2)-C(sp3) coupling of arylamines with acetonitrile was reported by using FeCl2 as the catalyst. Substituted anilines, aminopyridines, naphthylamines, and some nitrogen-containing heterocyclic arylamines react with inactive acetonitrile to form the corresponding arylacetonitriles in moderate to good yields. This protocol features nontoxic iron catalysis, efficient atom economy, nonprefunctionalized starting materials, good regioselectivity, and excellent compatibility of functional groups and aromatic rings, providing a novel, straightforward, and green approach toward arylacetonitriles.