Photo-assisted cyanation of transition metal nitrates coupled with room temperature C–C bond cleavage of acetonitrile

Abstract

It is a challenge to use acetonitrile as a cyanating agent because of the difficulty in cleaving its C–CN bond. Herein, we report a mild photo-assisted route to conduct the cyanation of transition metal nitrates using acetonitrile as the cyanating agent coupled with room-temperature C–C bond cleavage. DFT calculations and experimental observations suggest a radical-involved reaction mechanism, which excludes toxicity from free cyanide ions.