[Chemistry of alpha-aminonitriles. Aziridine-2-carbonitrile: photochemical formation from 2-aminopropenenitrile].

2-Aminopropenenitrile in solvents such as MeCN, MeOH, or H2O is photoisomerized by UV light to racemic aziridine-2-carbonitrile (rac-2); the larger part of the starting material, however, fragments to HCN and MeCN. The observed photocyclization constitutes a structural connection within an ensemble of C3H4N2 compounds considered to be potentially relevant to prebiotic chemistry.