Alkyl cyanides undergo Stephen reduction to produce

Question

Alkyl cyanides undergo Stephen reduction to produce, Aldehyde, Secondary amine, Primary amine, Amide

MARKS App · Accepted Answer

An alkyl cyanide is dissolved in ether or better in ethyl formate or ethyl acetate, and reduced with

{SnCl}_{2}

and

HCl

and then steam distilled. The whole process is called Stephen reaction. In this process, alkyl cyanide is reduced to aldehyde.

There is no analogous method for the preparation of ketones.