Lithium perchlorate/ diethylether catalyzed aminocyanation of aldehydes

A simple and efficient one-pot method was developed to give α-aminonitriles from aldehydes + amines + TMSCN in LPDE. Optically active α-aminonitriles were snythesized by using ( S)-(−)- or ( R)-(+) α-methylbenzylamine, ( S)-(−) α-methylbenzylamine affords predominantly S-aminonitriles and ( R)-(+) α-methylbenzylamine leads to the R-aminonitriles.