o-Benzenedisulfonimide and its chiral derivative as Brønsted acids catalysts for one-pot three-component Strecker reaction. Synthetic and mechanistic aspects
o-Benzenedisulfonimide (OBS) has efficiently catalysed the one-pot three-component reaction of ketones and aromatic amines with trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) giving the corresponding α-amino nitriles in excellent yields (23 examples; average yield 85%). Reaction conditions were very simple, green and efficient. Theoretical calculations have allowed us to explain the mechanism of this reaction which