Ligand-Free Palladium-Catalyzed Cyanation of Aryl Halides

Abstract
A practical, ligand-free cyanation of aryl bromides that utilizes as little as 0.1 mol % Pd(OAc)2 in combination with a nontoxic cyanide source, M4[Fe(CN)6] (M = K, Na), is described. The reactions are performed in DMAC at 120 °C and provide the corresponding aryl nitrile in 83−96% yield, typically in less than 5 h. TON values of up to 7100 were attained.