Modular Access to Nitriles From Carbonyls via Deoxygenative Transformation With Polarity Inversion

The C─O bond cleavage has always been a central challenge for deoxygenation due to high bond dissociation energies. Here, we develop a Lewis acid-promoted polarity inversion strategy that enables a strong C─O bond cleavage and rapid access to nitriles from carbonyls. Its broad applicability, together with the nontoxic and mild conditions, underscores the highly modular nature of this method.