Deuteration of Acrylonitrile

During preparation of acrylonitrile-1-d, CH2=CHD—CN, by D2O exchange, as described by Leitch (1), it was found that a linear relationship obtained between absorbance values for the 1165 cm−1 band and the degree of exchange indicated by mass spectrometer data. This note contains a brief description of the exchange experiment, spectra of acrylonitrile before and after deuteration, and a table of IR and mass spectral data recorded at intervals during the exchange.