Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Cyanation of Aryl Halides with Nitriles Involving Carbon–Carbon Cleavage

A novel, general route for the synthesis of aromatic nitriles is presented that proceeds through Cu(OAc)₂-catalyzed oxidative cyanation of aryl halides using commercially available nitriles as the cyanide sources and Ag₂O/air as the oxidizing agent. It is noteworthy that this work provides a new example of using acetonitrile as the cyanide source for aromatic nitrile synthesis through a Cu-catalyzed oxidative C–C bond cleavage and cyanation process.