Cyanation is a reaction in which a cyano group is attached or substituted on various substrates. Cyano groups is a strong electron-withdrawing group and many cyanides are widely used in organic synthesis. In addition, due to their unique properties, cyanides have important application value in the fields of perfumery, functional materials and pharmaceutical industry. For example, lemon nitrile is an international new type of nitrile spice and 4-Bromo-2, 6-difluoro benzonitrile is an important raw material for the preparation of liquid crystal materials. However, there are still some inadequacies for cyanation, such as olefin cyanide reactions, which are more stringent and sometimes require the use of expensive catalysts for cyano addition.
A substitution reaction refers to a reaction in which a group at a specific position of a compound is substituted with a cyano group. The common cyano-substituted reactions are divided into halogen substitution, diazonium salt substitution, ester group substitution, and others. At BOC Sciences, we usually carry out this type of reaction in the aqueous phase under microwave conditions. It has a short time, low energy consumption, fewer side reactions, high yield, and environmental friendliness.
Addition reaction refers to the addition of a compound containing C═X (X is C or O) or C≡C group to HCN and metal cyanide to produce a cyano compound. Common addition reactions lead to cyanation including: carbonyl addition, olefin addition, alkyne addition, and imine addition. Since HCN is highly toxic, the operation of preparing cyanohydrin is inconvenient and increases the difficulty of post-processing. Therefore, NaCN and KCN can be used instead of HCN for the preparation of cyanohydrin at BOC Sciences.
This reaction refers to a method for the removal of a molecule of water in a molecule to construct a cyano group. The commonly used method is an amide dehydration method. At BOC Sciences, the dehydration system we usually use is EtOPOCl2/DBU, which is a mild and effective dehydrating agent. It makes the reaction yield high and the operation quick and easy. It is particularly suitable for the preparation of thermodynamically unstable nitriles.
With many years of experience in chemical process research and development, BOC Sciences has sufficient capabilities and extensive expertise to assist you with development, piloting or manufacture of your cyanation process. Using our unique range of equipment, we can work with customers to develop efficient cyanation processes as stand-alone project. Furthermore, we have trained operators and senior technical experts to handle the toughest challenge in cyanation chemistry.
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