Ultrasounds in melted poly(ethylene glycol) promote copper-catalyzed cyanation of aryl halides with K(4)[Fe(CN)(6)].

Melted poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) were used for the first time as solvent for the sonochemically promoted cyanation of aryl halides employing inexpensive and safe K4[Fe(CN)6] and a relatively low amount of Cu-based catalyst. The Mw (weight-average polymer molecular weight) of PEG proved to notably influence the substrate conversion, which is indicative of a strong dependence of the sonication efficacy on solvent properties. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) contributed to the characterization of the polymer and the elucidation of the catalytic system.