Thorpe reaction

The Thorpe reaction is a chemical reaction described as a self-condensation of aliphatic nitriles catalyzed by base to form enamines.

[1][2][3] The reaction was discovered by Jocelyn Field Thorpe.

The Thorpe–Ziegler reaction (named after Jocelyn Field Thorpe and Karl Ziegler), or Ziegler method, is the intramolecular modification with a dinitrile as a reactant and a cyclic ketone as the final reaction product after acidic hydrolysis.

The reaction is conceptually related to the Dieckmann condensation.

[3]