Advances in the Application of Acetonitrile in Organic Synthesis since 2018

Acetonitrile is commonly used as an organic solvent and can also be used as an important intermediate in organic synthesis. Its widespread use has led to the development of new methods for the synthesis of a variety of important compounds. In the past decades, the conversion reactions of acetonitrile as a building block have become one of the most-attractive fields in organic synthesis. Especially in the field of electrochemical conversions involving acetonitrile, due to its good conductivity and environmentally friendly features, it has become a powerful and compelling tool to afford nitrogen-containing compounds or nitrile-containing compounds. In this review, we mainly discuss the research progress involving acetonitrile in the past five years, covering both conventional synthesis methods and electrochemical synthesis. Besides, a detailed discussion of the substrate scope and mechanistic pathways is provided.