Halogenated acetonitriles add smoothly to acrolein, methacrolein, and methacrolein dimethyl acetal in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuCl and triphenylphosphine, tri-n- butylphosphine, or triethylamine to give halogenated difunctional adducts. The adducts have been cyclized in high yields under acidic conditions to halogenated pyridines.
