A quantum chemical study on the mechanism of chiral N-oxides-catalyzed Strecker reaction

The mechanism for the Strecker reaction of silyl cyanide (H3SiCN) and benzaldehyde N-methylimine (PhCHNCH3) catalyzed by chiral 3,3′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine N,N′-dioxide (B) was investigated using the density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G* level. The calculations showed that chiral N-oxide could be used as a good catalyst for the Strecker reaction, which was in agreement with the experimental observations.