Acetonitrile as a Building Block and Reactant

Acetonitrile is popular as a solvent for performing organic reactions, as a ligand in inorganic chemistry, as a mobile phase in chromatography, and as an electrolyte solvent in dye-sensitized solar cells. This is mainly due to its ability to dissolve both polar and nonpolar components. However, acetonitrile is also a valuable building block allowing atom-efficient transformations in synthetic organic chemistry. The aim of this review is to highlight synthetic transformations using acetonitrile, covering both classical approaches and modern strategies proceeding through radical intermediates or mediated by metal catalysis. Besides showcasing synthetic protocols useful for acetonitrile and analogues, warnings for when not to use acetonitrile as a solvent are also provided. 1 Introduction 2 Fundamental Reactions with Acetonitrile 3 Cyanomethylation of Non-Aromatics 4 The Acetonitrile Nitrogen as a Nucleophile 5 The Blaise Reaction 6 Synthesis of Pyridines 7 Other Cyclization Reactions 8 Cyanomethylation of Arenes and Heteroarenes 9 Acetylation of Arenes Using Acetonitrile 10 Synthesis of N-Arylacetamides 11 Cyanation Using Acetonitrile as a Cyanide Source 12 When To Avoid Acetonitrile as a Solvent 13 Conclusion