Benzonitrile is the

chemical compound A chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element ...

with the formula , abbreviated PhCN. This

aromatic In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

is a colorless liquid with a

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', Synonym (taxonomy)#Botany, syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree from the genus ''Prunus''. Along with the peach, it is classified in the subgenus ''Amygdalus'', distinguished from the other subgenera ...

like odour. It is mainly used industrially to produce the

melamine resin Melamine resin or melamine formaldehyde (also shortened to melamine) is a resin with melamine rings terminated with multiple hydroxyl groups derived from formaldehyde. This thermosetting plastic material is made from melamine and formaldehyde. ...

precursor

benzoguanamine Benzoguanamine is an organic Chemical compound, compound with the chemical formula (CNH2)2(CC6H5)N3. It is related to melamine but with one amino group replaced by phenyl. Benzoguanamine is used in the manufacturing of melamine resins. Unlike mela ...

Production and reactions

It is prepared by

ammoxidation In organic chemistry, ammoxidation is a process for the production of nitriles () using ammonia () and oxygen (). It is sometimes called the SOHIO process, acknowledging that ammoxidation was developed at Standard Oil of Ohio. The usual substrate ...

toluene Toluene (), also known as toluol (), is a substituted aromatic hydrocarbon with the chemical formula , often abbreviated as , where Ph stands for the phenyl group. It is a colorless, water Water is an inorganic compound with the c ...

, that is its reaction with

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

and oxygen (or air) at . : + 3/2 + → + In the laboratory it can be prepared by the dehydration of

benzamide Benzamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula of C7H7NO. It is the simplest amide derivative of benzoic acid. In powdered form, it appears as a white solid, while in crystalline form, it appears as colourless crystals. It is slightly ...

benzaldehyde oxime Benzaldehyde oxime is an organic compound with the formula C7H7NO. Benzaldehyde oxime can be synthesized from benzaldehyde and hydroxylamine hydrochloride in presence of a base. The reaction at room temperature in methanol gives 9% ''E''-isomer and ...

or by the

Rosenmund–von Braun reaction The Rosenmund–von Braun synthesis is an organic reaction in which an aryl halide reacts with cuprous cyanide to yield an aryl nitrile. : The reaction was named after Karl Wilhelm Rosenmund who together with his Ph.D. student Erich Struck disc ...

using cuprous cyanide or NaCN/

DMSO Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is an organosulfur compound with the formula . This colorless liquid is the sulfoxide most widely used commercially. It is an important polar aprotic solvent that dissolves both polar and nonpolar compounds and is ...

and

bromobenzene Bromobenzene is an aryl bromide and the simplest of the bromobenzenes, consisting of a benzene ring substituted with one bromine atom. Its chemical formula is . It is a colourless liquid although older samples can appear yellow. It is a reagent ...

. :

Hydrogenation Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to redox, reduce or Saturated ...

of benzonitrile in principle gives

benzylamine Benzylamine, also known as phenylmethylamine, is an Organic chemistry, organic chemical compound with the Structural formula#Condensed formulas, condensed structural formula C6H5CH2NH2 (sometimes abbreviated as Phenyl group#Nomenclature, PhCH2NH2 ...

, but owing to transamination, dibenzylamine and tribenzylamine are also produced.

Applications

Laboratory uses

Benzonitrile is a useful solvent and a versatile precursor to many derivatives. It reacts with amines to afford N-substituted benzamides after hydrolysis. It is a precursor to diphenylmethanimine via reaction with

phenylmagnesium bromide Phenylmagnesium bromide, with the simplified formula , is a magnesium-containing organometallic compound. It forms colorless crystals. It is commercially available as a solution in diethyl ether or tetrahydrofuran (THF). Phenylmagnesium bromide i ...

followed by

methanolysis Transesterification is the process of exchanging the organic functional group R″ of an ester with the organic group R' of an alcohol. These reactions are often catalyzed by the addition of an acid or base catalyst. Strong acids catalyze the r ...

. Benzonitrile forms

coordination complex A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of chemical bond, bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ' ...

es with transition metals that are both soluble in organic solvents and conveniently labile. One example is . The benzonitrile ligands are readily displaced by stronger ligands, making benzonitrile complexes useful synthetic intermediates.

History

Benzonitrile was reported by Hermann Fehling in 1844. He found the compound as a product from the thermal dehydration of

ammonium benzoate Ammonium benzoate, a white powder-like substance, is the ammonium salt of benzoic acid. This compound is prepared by the reaction of benzoic acid and ammonia. Reactions Ammonium benzoate can be dehydrated to form benzamide Benzamide is an org ...

. He deduced its structure from the already known analogue reaction of

ammonium formate Ammonium formate, NH4HCO2, is the ammonium salt of formic acid. It is a colorless, hygroscopic, crystalline solid. Reductive amination Acetone can be transformed into isopropylamine as follows: :CH3C(O)CH3 + 2 HCO2− +NH4 → (CH3)2CHNHCHO + 2 ...

yielding

hydrogen cyanide Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boiling, boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is ...

( formonitrile). He also coined the name benzonitrile which gave the name to all the group of

nitrile In organic chemistry, a nitrile is any organic compound that has a functional group. The name of the compound is composed of a base, which includes the carbon of the , suffixed with "nitrile", so for example is called " propionitrile" (or pr ...

s. In 2018, benzonitrile was reported to be detected in the

interstellar medium The interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the outer space, space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as cosmic dust, dust and cosmic rays. It f ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Aromatic solvents Phenyl compounds Benzonitriles Substances discovered in the 19th century