Solid-supported gallium triflate: an efficient catalyst for the three-component ketonic Strecker reaction

In light of the growing interest in the use of rare earth metal triflates as water-tolerant Lewis acid catalysts, we embarked upon the development of a solid-supported gallium triflate (PS-Ga(OTf)(2) ) derivative as a means of increasing the cleanliness and cost effectiveness of using these increasingly expensive catalytic materials in synthetic processes. Having previously highlighted the advantages associated with coupling solid-supported catalysis and the emerging area of micro-reaction technology, we screened PS-Ga(OTf)(2) for activity towards the ketonic Strecker reaction, in which the target α-aminonitriles were obtained in higher yield and purity compared to reactions reported in literature, in which the analogous homogeneous catalyst was used.