Cyanosilylation of Benzaldehyde with Trimethylsilyl cyanide over Zn-Sn Mixed Oxide Catalysts with Cubic-shaped Particles

A Zn-Sn precursor with cubic-shaped particles was successfully prepared by a simple coprecipitation method to obtain Zn-Sn mixed oxide (ZTO) catalysts. The resulting ZTO catalyst maintained the cubic shape even after calcination at 900 °C. The catalytic activity for the cyanosilylation of benzaldehyde with trimethylsilyl cyanide increased with increasing calcination temperature, and reached the maximum value at 600 °C. The ZTO catalyst calcined at 600 °C exhibited higher catalytic activity than the other solid acid catalysts, SiO2–Al2O3 and Amberlyst 15 DRY.