Hypoiodite‐Mediated Catalytic Cyclopropanation of Alkenes with Malononitrile

Abstract An efficient synthetic procedure for dicyano‐cyclopropanation of alkenes using catalytic amounts of molecular iodine as a precatalyst and tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as a terminal oxidant under mild conditions has been developed. This catalytic reaction works especially well for the aryl‐substituted double bond affording products of cyclopropanation in high yields. A catalytic cycle based on the generated in situ hypoiodite species has been proposed. magnified image