PROCESS FOR HYDROCYANATION OF OLEFINIC COMPOUNDS

摘要

An improved process for the hydrocyanation of an olefinically unsaturated organic compound such as 3-pentene-nitrile or 4-pentenenitrile in the presence of a zerovalent nickel compound of the type Ni(PXYZ)4, Ni(PXYZ)3R2CN or Ni(PXYZ)2A wherein X is OR and Y and Z are R or OR and R is an alkyl or aryl group of up to 18 carbon atoms, R2 is 2-butenyl, 3-butenyl or cyano-substituted alkyl radical and A is 3-pentenenitrile or 4-pentenenitrile, the radicals of a given PXYZ ligand in Ni(PXYZ)3R2CN or Ni(PXYZ)2A being so chosen that the ligand has a cone angle of 130 DEG to 170 DEG wherein the zerovalent nickel compound is contacted with an activated crystalline zeolite molecular sieve having substantially uniform pore diameters in the range of about 3A to about 13A.