The nickel(0) fragment [(
P-P)Ni], where (P-P) = dcy
pe (1,2-bis(dicyclohexyl
phos
phino)ethane) ordtb
pe (1,2-bis(di-
tert-butyl
phos
phino)ethane), reacts with the cyano-olefins involved in the isomerization
process of 2-methyl-3-butenenitrile (2M3BN),
producing the corres
ponding com
plex [(P-P)Ni(
2-
C,C-cyano-olefin)]. In the case of 2M3BN and 3-
pentenenitrile (3PN), the
![](/images/gifchars/<font color=)
pi.gif" BORDER=0 >-methylallyl metal com
plex wasobserved in solution. All of the intermediates in the catalytic cycle were detected and characterized byheteronuclear NMR s
pectrosco
py; some of these were also characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffractionstudies. The initial catalytic behavior of this system for the isomerization of 2M3BN was studied also.