Cobalt-catalyzed C-H cyanation of (hetero)arenes and 6-arylpurines with N-cyanosuccinimide as a new cyanating agent.

A cobalt-catalyzed C-H cyanation reaction of arenes has been developed using N-cyanosuccinimide as a new electrophilic cyanating agent. The reaction proceeds with high selectivity to afford monocyanated products with excellent functional group tolerance. Substrate scope was found to be broad enough to include a wide range of heterocycles including 6-arylpurines.