Dimerization of Acrylonitrile by Ruthenium Chloride

Abstract

Abstract The end-to-end dimerization of acrylonitrile was effected with a ruthenium trichloride trihydrate catalyst under a hydrogen atmosphere, thus obtaining a mixture of cis- and trans-1, 4-dicyano-1-butene as the main products. Under nitrogen, however, only very small amounts of these products were formed. The reaction occurred at temperatures of 120–200°C under moderate hydrogen pressures in alcoholic media such as ethanol. The effects of various salts or electron-donating compounds on the catalysis were examined.