| abstract |
There are prepared acyl cyanides of the formula <IMAGE> (I) where R is a straight or branched chain alkyl group having 1 to 18 carbon atoms, preferably 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and which also can be substituted by one or more phenyl groups or halogen atoms, preferably chlorine, or R is preferably a cycloalkyl group having 3 to 8 carbon atoms, preferably cyclopropyl, which can have one or more 1 to 3 carbon atom alkyl or halogen, preferably chlorine, substituents wherein in all of the above set forth substitutions the halogen atoms and the phenyl groups are not on the carbon atom adjacent to the carbonyl group or R is a substituted phenyl group, a naphthyl group, a substituted naphthyl group or a five membered heterocyclic group, e.g., furyl, thienyl or alkyl substituted thienyl, wherein the substituents on the phenyl or naphthyl are halogen atoms, nitro groups or alkyl or alkoxy groups having 1 to 5 carbon atoms. The process comprises reacting an acyl halide of the formula R-CO-Hal(II) in which R is as defined above and Hal is a chlorine or bromine atom, with a mixture consisting of about 0.1 to 5 equivalents of the alkali metal cyanide and about 0.05 to 2 equivalents of the copper (I) salt at a temperature of about 50 DEG to 180 DEG C in the presence of a carboxylic acid nitrile inert under the reaction conditions employed. Certain of the compounds are novel per se. |