Hydrochloric Acid → 4-Formyl-4-methylvaleronitrile

Participants

Reaction Steps

Isobutyraldehyde (1 g, 13.9 mmol) and acrylonitrile (0.81 g, 15 mmol) were mixed thoroughly and cooled with an ice-bath. Triton B (40% in MeOH, 0.58 g, 1.4 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. It was then neutralized with 0.1 M HCl (14 cm3) and extracted with CH2Cl2 (100 cm3). The extracts were concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue was Kugelrohr-distilled to give the product 4,4dimethyl-5-oxopentanenitrile (0.8 g, 50.7%) as an oil, bp 125-130° C./20 Torr.

Provenance & Evidence