| abstract |
The invention provides a process for hydrocyanation, comprising: contacting 2-pentenenitrile with hydrogen cyanide at a temperature in the range of about 0°C to about 150°C in the presence of at least one Lewis acid promoter and a catalyst precursor composition, wherein the catalyst precursor composition comprises a zero-valent nickel and at least one bidentate phosphite ligand selected from a member of the group represented by Formula (I) and Formula (II), in which all like reference characters have the same meaning, except as further explicitly limited: wherein R1 and R5 are independently selected from the group consisting of C1 to C5 hydrocarbyl; and R2, R3, R4, R6, R7 and R8 are independently selected from the group consisting of H and C1 to C4 hydrocarbyl. |