Article révisé par les pairs
Résumé : N‐benzyl‐1‐azacycloheptan‐4‐one (VII) has been synthesized by the Thorpe‐Ziegler cyclisation of 4‐(N‐benzyl‐N‐2‐cyanoethyl)‐aminobutyronitrile (IV). This aminobisnitrile was obtained by the addition of benzylamine (Ia) on acrylonitrile and alkylation of the reaction product (3‐N‐benzyl‐aminopropionitrile) (IIa) with 4‐halobutyronitriles (III). An attempt to add benzylamine on methacrylonitrile proved unsuccessful. Some of the new compounds prepared in the course of this work have been characterised by their IR spectra. Copyright © 1958 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim