Direct oxidative conversion of alcohols and amines to nitriles with molecular iodine and DIH in aq NH3

Simple and high-yield procedures for the direct oxidative conversion of various primary alcohols, and primary, secondary, and tertiary amines to the corresponding nitriles were successfully carried out with molecular iodine in aq ammonia and 1,3-diiodo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin in aq NH3, respectively.