Development of a HAT Reagent for the Decarboxylative Thiocyanation of Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids

A novel reagent for the decarboxylative thiocyanation of nonactivated aliphatic carboxylic acids by HAT has been synthesized. The transition metal-free process involved the use of an organic photocatalyst and blue light irradiation. Primary, secondary and tertiary aliphatic carboxylic acids as well as amino carboxylic acids and fatty carboxylic acids were converted to the corresponding thiocyanates in good to excellent yields. The scalability of the process was demonstrated in continuous flow chemistry, enabling rapid access to high value-added thiocyanates as building blocks.