The general procedure for the synthesis of tert-butyl 3-(cyanomethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate from tert-butyl 3-(cyanomethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate was as follows: 2.60 g (13.9 mmol, 1.0 eq.) of tert-butyl 3-(cyanomethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate was dissolved in 130 mL of methanol, 513 mg (0.48 mmol, 0.036 eq.) of 10% palladium/carbon catalyst (containing 50% water). The reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 hours under hydrogen atmosphere. Upon completion of the reaction, the catalyst was removed by filtration and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to afford 2.63 g (13.3 mmol, 98% yield) of tert-butyl 3-(cyanomethyl)azetidine-1-carboxylate. The product was characterized by 1H NMR (400 MHz, chloroform-d) with the following chemical shifts δ [ppm]: 1.47 (s, 9H), 2.66 (d, J = 7.07 Hz, 2H), 2.83-2.93 (m, 1H), 3.71 (dd, J = 9.09, 5.05 Hz, 2H), 4.15 (t, J = 8.59 Hz, 2H).
