Ethyl cyanoacetate is an organic compound that contains a carboxylate ester and a nitrile.
[2] Ethyl cyanoacetate may be prepared in various ways: The vapor pressure follows the Antoine equation log10(P) = A−(B/(T+C)) (P in bar, T in K) with A = 7.46724, B = 3693.663 and C = 16.138 in the temperature range from 341 to 479 K[6] Two polymorphic forms occur.
[7][full citation needed] Below −111 °C, the crystal form II is dominant.
[7] With its three different reactive centers—nitrile, ester, acidic methylene site—ethyl cyanoacetate is a versatile synthetic building block for a variety of functional and pharmacologically active substances.
[14] Non-cyclic products from this starting material include: Ethyl cyanoacetate is also used to prepare 3,3-diphenylpropan-1-amine, which is the precursor used in the synthesis of Prenylamine & Droprenilamine.