Choose the best reagent(s) for carrying out the conversion.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The starting material appears to be a carbonyl compound, and the desired product has a cyanide group (-CN) attached to it. Therefore, the best reagent for this transformation would be NaCN, which is a nucleophile that can attack the carbonyl carbon and add the -CN group. The resulting intermediate can be hydrolyzed with aqueous acid to yield the final product. Mg in ether followed by CO₂, on the other hand, is commonly used for the synthesis of thioesters and is unlikely to result in the desired product in this case.

Choose the Best Reagent(s) for Carrying Out the Conversion