The addition of hydrogen cyanide to both terminal and disubstituted acetylenes occurs with cis- stereospecificity in moderate to excellent yields when catalysed by a nickel (0) complex. ... The addition of hydrogen cyanide to acetylene has been carried out on a large commercial scale using acid cata1ysis.l Copper based catalyst systems have also been used to promote this reaction.2 We report that the addition of hydrogen cyanide to sub- stituted acetylenes ...
