Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 12, 2026

Cinnamonitrile

(E)-Cinnamonitrile is an organic compound approved for use as a fragrance in products such as air fresheners. It has a spicy cinnamon/cassia aroma.

Last revised
Jul 12, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
289 w
Citations
7
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Cinnamonitrile
source ↗
Names
IUPAC name
(E)-3-phenylprop-2-enenitrile
Other names
    • trans-Cinnamonitrile
    • trans-β-Phenylacrylonitrile
    • (E)-3-Phenyl-2-propenenitrile
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEMBL
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.015.957
EC Number
  • 217-552-5
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C9H7N/c10-8-4-7-9-5-2-1-3-6-9/h1-7H/b7-4+
    Key: ZWKNLRXFUTWSOY-QPJJXVBHSA-N
  • C(=C/C#N)\C1=CC=CC=C1
Properties
C9H7N
Molar mass 129.162 g·mol−1
Density 1.0374 (15.2 °C)
Melting point 22 °C (72 °F; 295 K)
Boiling point 263.8 °C (506.8 °F; 537.0 K)
log P 1.96
Hazards
GHS labelling:1
GHS06: ToxicGHS07: Exclamation mark
Danger
H301, H312, H317
P261, P264, P270, P272, P280, P301+P316, P302+P352, P317, P321, P330, P333+P313, P362+P364, P405, P501
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

(E)-Cinnamonitrile is an organic compound approved for use as a fragrance in products such as air fresheners.23 It has a spicy cinnamon/cassia aroma.4

Synthetic routes include an aldol-like condensation of benzaldehyde with acetonitrile under alkaline conditions,5 an elimination reaction of various oximes derived from cinnamaldehyde,6 and oxidative coupling of benzene to acrylonitrile.7

References

References

  1. "Cinnamonitrile". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
  2. "IFRA Standard, Amendment 49: Cinnamyl nitrile" (PDF). International Fragrance Association. 2020. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  3. "Cinnamonitrile". Consumer Product Information Database. Retrieved 2022-06-23.
  4. "cinnamyl nitrile". Scents and Flavors. Scents and Flavors. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
  5. Yu, Chao-sheng; Pan, Cheng-jun; Xie, Jin; Li, Bin (2007). "Quick synthesis of trans-cinnamyl nitrile". CNKI.
  6. An, Xiao-De; Yu, Shouyun (2015). "Direct Synthesis of Nitriles from Aldehydes Using an O-Benzoyl Hydroxylamine (BHA) as the Nitrogen Source". Organic Letters. 17 (20): 5064–5067. doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.5b02547. PMID 26418564.
  7. Obora, Yasushi; Okabe, Yoshihisa; Ishii, Yasutaka (2010). "journal Direct oxidative coupling of benzenes with acrylonitriles to cinnamonitriles catalyzed by Pd(OAc)2/HPMoV/O2 system". Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry. 8 (18): 4071–4073. doi:10.1039/c0ob00176g. PMID 20652185.