Palladium-catalyzed cyanation of porphyrins utilizing cyanoethylzinc bromide as an efficient cyanide ion source.

Palladium-catalyzed cyanation of bromoporphyrins is now realized using cyanoethylzinc bromide as a specific cyanating agent. This new protocol provides an easy access to various cyanated Zn(II) porphyrins, including meso-mono-, meso-di-, and beta-mono-cyano-substituted Zn(II) complexes. [reaction: see text]