Reaction of R 3 Yb, prepared from YbCl 3 and RLi, with Me 3 SiCN gives Yb(CN) 3 , which is a highly efficient catalyst for regio and stereoselective cleavage of an oxirane with Me 3 SiCN under mild conditions to give a β-trimethylsiloxy nitrile in excellent yield. ... Ln(CN) 3 (Ln: Sc, Y, Ce, Eu) is also effective for the reaction. ... Silicon Reagents for Organic SynthesisSpringer-Verlag, Berlin (1983) Chapter 2. ... J. Org. Chem., 52 (1987), p. 1013 ...