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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Facile Preparation of (2Z,4E)-Dienamides by the Olefination of Electron-deficient Alkenes with Allyl Acetate
Published on: June 21, 2017
Cyanoesterification of 1,2-dienes catalyzed by nickel
Yasuhiro Hirata1, Tomohiko Inui, Yoshiaki Nakao
1Department of Material Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan.
Abstract:
Cyanoformate esters add across 1,2-dienes in the presence of a nickel/PMe(2)Ph catalyst to afford beta-cyano-alpha-methylenealkanoates regioselectively, which are kinetically favored and readily isomerize to thermodynamically favored alpha-cyanomethyl-alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylates at high temperature under the nickel catalysis, possibly through oxidative addition of the C-CN bond. Similar cyanoesterification products are produced from chloroformate esters, trimethylsilyl cyanide, and 1,2-dienes in the presence of a nickel/dppp catalyst. The resulting cyanoesterification products have a structure of allylic cyanide and thus undergo further allyl cyanation reaction across alkynes with the aid of a nickel/P(4-CF(3)-C(6)H(4))(3) catalyst to afford highly substituted acrylonitrile derivatives.
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