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Nitriles


Nitriles are a class of organic compounds that contain at least one nitrile (cyano) function group. The main methods for producing nitriles in industry are ammoxidation and hydrocyanation. Other common preparations involve reactions of organic halides with cyanide salts, dehydration of aldoximes and amides, Sandmeyer reaction of aromatic diazonium salts. Nitrile groups in organic compounds can undergo a variety of reactions such as hydrolysis to first give carboxamides and then carboxylic acids, reduction to amines and alkyl nitriles can be deprotonated to nitrile anions that can alkylate a wide range of electrophiles. They also undergo nucleophilic addition reactions with organozinc compounds (Blaise reaction), alcohols (Pinner reaction) and amines. They are found in many useful compounds, including methyl cyanoacrylate in super glue, and nitrile rubber, a nitrile-containing polymer used in latex-free laboratory and medical gloves.