Reactions of methyl esters of adamantane acids with acetonitrile

Methyl adamantane-1-carboxylate and methyl (1-adamantyl)acetate react with acetonitrile in the presence of sodium hydride to give 3-(1-adamantyl)-3-oxopropanenitrile and 4-(1-adamantyl)-3-oxobutanenitrile, respectively. Reaction involving methyl (1-adamantyl)-acetate produces also 2-(1-adamantyl)-N-(E-1-cyanoprop-1-ene-2-yl)acetamide; the structure of this side product was established by X-ray diffraction analysis.