Nitrile-substituted cyclopropanes are readily synthesized in a stereocontrolled fashion from the intermolecular cyclopropanation between 2-diazo-2-phenylacetonitrile and electron-rich olefins, catalyzed by the chiral dirhodium complex, Rh(2)(S-PTAD)(4).

Nitrile N-oxides are useful reagents and crosslinkers for catalyst- byproduct-free 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions. The stability of nitrile can be enhanced by introducing bulky substituents, whereas their reactivity decreases concomitantly. Herein, an isolatable aliphatic ditopic N-oxide was synthesized applied to catalyst-free crosslinking unsaturated bond-containing polymers. By decreasi...