Carefully controlled displacement of chiral chloroacetyl imides with cyanide afforded previously unreported cyanoacetimides in good overall yield. Knoevenagel condensation of the cyanoacetimides to furnish acrylonitriles was also demonstrated.
Key words
oxazolidinone - Knoevenagel - cyanoacetic - chloroacetic - tetrabutylammonium cyanide