A Convenient Esterification of N‐Heteroarene Methanols via C–CN Bond Cleavage of Benzoyl Cyanides as Acylating Sources

Abstract An efficient and straightforward methodology for the esterification of various N ‐heteroarene methanols using benzoyl cyanides as acylating sources through a simply mixing conditions has been reported. The acyl groups were in‐situ generated via chemoselective C–CN bond cleavage to give the N ‐heteroarenemethyl esters. This process features in readily accessible starting materials and offers an easy operational procedure, and broad substrate scope with excellent selectivity.