Synthesis of β-Cyano Ketones Promoted by a Heterogeneous Fluoride Catalyst.

The article presents a study to describe an efficient protocol for the conjugate addition of cyanide to alpha, beta-unsaturated ketones 1a-j using trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) as cyanide source and Amb-F as solid catalyst under solvent-free conditions (SolFC). It discusses the addition of TMSCN to (E)-hept-3-en-2-one (1a). The study suggests that an initial 1,2-addition of cyanide to the a,b-unsaturated ketone 1 occurs giving the cyanohydrin trimethylsilyl ether 2.