One‐Pot Preparation of C1‐Homologated Aliphatic Nitriles from Aldehydes through a Wittig Reaction under Metal‐Cyanide‐Free Conditions

A one‐pot protocol to obtain C1‐homologated aliphatic nitriles was achieved by treating aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with the (methoxymethyl)triphenylphosphonium ylide followed by hydrolysis of the resulting methyl vinyl ethers with pTsOH (Ts = para‐toluenesulfonyl) and treatment with molecular iodine and aqueous ammonia under metal cyanide free conditions. Neopentyl‐type nitriles, which could not be obtained by conventional methods that involved conversion of the neopentyl alcohol into a tosylate and treatment with metal cyanide, were successfully obtained by using the present method.