To establish that sodium tetracyanoethanide could function as a tricyanoethylene source, its reaction with sodium malononitrile was studied. When a solution of tetracyanoethane was slowly dropped into a mixture of sodium malononitrile and sodium hydride in 1, 2- dimethoxyethane at about 80") 1, 1, 3, 3-tetracyanopropenideg was produced in 67y0 yield. Since tetracyanoethane itself is stable in solution at 80, tetracyanoethanide must be the ...
