Facile one-pot preparation of 2-arylpropionic and arylacetic acids from cyanohydrins by treatment with aqueous HI

A novel one-pot two-step procedure has been developed to synthesize highly substituted 2-arylpropionic and arylacetic acids, by treatment with aqueous HI, from cyanohydrins. The hydrogenolytic reduction of α-hydroxy-2-arylpropionic acids was the key step of the process and the optimization of the reaction conditions led to identify aqueous HI as an appropriate and selective reagent for the reductive deoxygenation of cyanohydrins. The synthetic route described a general and efficient strategy for the preparation of large libraries of phenylacetic and phenylpropionic acids derivatives.