The kinetics and mechanism of the phosphorus-catalysed dimerisation of acrylonitrile

Abstract

Isopropyl diarylphosphinites (Ar₂POPrⁱ) catalyse the dimerisation of acrylonitrile (AN) to a mixture of cis- and trans-1,4-dicyanobut-1-ene (cis,trans-DCB-1), trans-1,4-dicyanobut-2-ene (DCB-2) and 2,4-dicyanobut-1-ene (MGN). The kinetics and mechanism of the reaction, which is a potential source of hexamethylenediamine, are reported in detail and the factors which govern rate and selectivity to DCB-1 and DCB-2 rather than MGN are elaborated.