Al-MCM-41: An Efficient and Recyclable Heterogeneous Catalyst for the Synthesis ofβ-Hydroxy Thiocyanates in Water

An efficient and green procedure has been developed for the synthesis ofβ-hydroxy thiocyanate by the regioselective ring opening of epoxides with NH4SCN. The reaction was carried out in water without any organic solvent at40°C, using Al-MCM-41 (a mesoporous aluminosilicate) as catalyst. In this method, several types of epoxides carrying electron-donating or withdrawing groups were rapidly converted to the correspondingβ-hydroxy thiocyanates in good from excellent yields. Various advantages associated with this protocol include simple workup procedure, short reaction times, high product yields, greater regioselectivity, and easy recovery and reusability of the catalyst.