Recent Advancement in Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Hydrocyanation of Nonpolar Unsaturated Compounds

Catalytic hydrocyanation of unsaturated C-C bonds is arguably one of the most atom-economical strategies for nitrile preparation. This chapter summarizes the research on transition-metal-catalyzed hydrocyanation of unsaturated hydrocarbons during the last decade. These studies involve the extension of HCN surrogates and unsaturated substrates, catalyst development as well as the improvement of the activity and multiple selectivities. The remaining challenges and personal future perspectives are presented at the end.