A C≡N bond was found to transform into a C=N bond under such a mild conditions as to mix trichloroacetonitrile, metal salts and methanol at 20 C. Ni (II) and Co (II) gave dimeric ring complexes and Mn (II) gave amidine, aminotriazine and brown powder. The aminotriazine was isolated as unstable liquid which spontaneously transformed into the crystal. A trimer structure was proposed for the liquid. In anhydrous systems, any oligomerization did not occur, so water was concluded to participate in the initiation.
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Kazumi Suematsu (1984) studied this question.