Hydrogen Cyanide → Isophorone

Participants

Reaction Steps

To 622 g (4.5 mol) of isophorone in the presence of 4.14 g (0.02mol) of butyltrimethylammonium methylcarbonate there are added 288.3 g of a mixture of 3 mol of HCN and 1.5 mol of isophorone over a period of 120 min and at a temperature of 115° C. Following neutralization with 4 g of H3PO4 the mixture is distilled. There are obtained 424.3 g of isophorone and 478.3 g of 3-cyano-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexanone. This is equivalent to a yield of 98.8% based on converted isophorone and 96.5% based on HCN used.

Provenance & Evidence