Addition of α-Halo-substituted Carbonitriles to and AldehydesKetones in the Presence of Iron Pentacarbonyl

Halo-substituted carbonitriles in the presence of iron pentacarbonyl react with aldehydes and ketones by Reformatsky reaction type. In contract to halo-substituted esters the nitriles are considerably more reactive toward ketones than aldehydes. At the same time the structure and yield of products obtained from both nitriles and esters are strongly and similarly affected by the character of the para-substituents in the benzaldehyde.