Green Oxidative Synthesis of Nitriles

The nitrile group is an important functionality. Nitriles are intermediates in the synthesis of a wide variety of organic compounds, as well as being present in products ranging from pharmaceuticals to materials. This chapter illustrates few examples of nitrile containing compounds and details of their applications. It focuses on recent developments in the area of oxidation catalysis for nitrile synthesis, where the conditions are milder and readily accessible for synthetic chemists. The chapter examines catalytic oxidative methods that avoid the use of stoichiometric metal cyanide salts. It highlights the methods that allow nitriles to be prepared from a variety of substrates. Alcohols and aldehydes are particularly attractive substrates as these are readily accessible. The catalytic aerobic oxidation of amines is an important area of research, as these reactions can produce highly valuable intermediates and products.