Oxidative Synthesis of α‐Amino Nitriles from Tertiary Amines

A catalytic option: Tertiary amines are converted into the corresponding α-amino nitriles in the presence of hydrated ruthenium trichloride (5 mol %), sodium cyanide (1.2 equiv), and molecular oxygen (see scheme). This is a valuable alternative to the Strecker synthesis of α-amino nitriles and can be used to prepare N-aryl glycine derivatives and unsymmetrical 1,2-diamines.