A new method is described of obtaining 4-n-alkyl-4'-cyanobiphenyls from biphenyl. First biphenyl is acylated and the resulting ketone is reduced in conditions of the Huang-Minion reaction; next the obtained 4-n-alkylbiphenyl is converted to 4-n-alkyl-4'-iodobiphenyl which readily reacts with copper cyanide giving the required nitrile with a good yield.
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Dąbrowski et al. (1980) studied this question.
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