The Stereochemistry of Organometallic Compounds. XXVIII. The Nickel-Catalyzed Addition of Hydrogen Cyanide to Aliphatic Dienes

Reaction of hydrogen cyanide with a wide range of aliphatic dienes in the presence of nickel(0) catalysts leads to rearrangement of the diene and formation of β,γ -unsaturated nitriles in moderate to very high yields. The mechanism of reaction is discussed in terms of π-allyl-nickel intermediates.