Dicationic ionic liquids as effective catalysts in solvent free Strecker synthesis

Abstract A benign protocol for the Strecker synthesis of α-aminonitriles in the bifunctional ionic liquids has been reported here. The imidazolium based dicationic ionic liquids with Cl-, NO2- and PF6- anions efficiently catalysed the conversion of a variety of aldehydic substrates into corresponding α-aminonitriles upon treatment with aniline and trimethylsilylcyanide. B[MIm]2[PF6]2 provided 97% of the product in a short interval of 30 mins with 5 wt% of it. Ionic liquids were recovered efficiently and re-used in the reaction for consecutive 5 cycles without much significant loss in its activity. Thus, the current protocol possesses the advantageous features of being less-hazardous, benign, solvent free and reproducible.