Facile Synthesis of γ‐Ketonitriles in Water via C(sp2)–H Activation of Aromatic Aldehydes over Cu@g‐C3N4 under Visible‐Light.

A facile C(sp2)–H activation of aldehyde under visible‐light conditions using Cu@g‐C3N4 as photocatalyst and water as solvent is reported. The envisaged method involves photocatalytic intermolecular Stetter reaction using differently substituted aldehydes and acrylonitrile to produce various γ‐keto nitriles in good to excellent yield (80–95 %) and 4–10 h at r.t. Operational simplicity, ambient reaction conditions, visible‐light condition, and application of the Cu@g‐C3N4 as photocatalyst make the envisaged protocol an efficient and highly green alternative to the existing methods for synthesis of γ‐keto nitriles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]