Patent ID: 6906201

Claim:
A process for preparing a reaction product comprising N-(methyl aryl)-2-lactam (III), N-(methyl cycloalkyl-2-lactam (IV), or a mixture thereof, the process comprising the step of contacting a lactone (I) with an aryl cyano compound (II), in the presence of hydrogen gas and a catalyst, the catalyst being optionally supported on a catalyst support, and, optionally, said contacting is performed in the presence of a solvent; wherein: (i) n=0-11; (ii) R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 and R 6 taken independently are hydrogen, hydrocarbyl or substituted hydrocarbyl, C 1 to C 18 unsubstituted or substituted alkyl, unsubstituted or substituted alkenyl, unsubstituted or substituted cycloalkyl, unsubstituted or substituted cycloalkyl containing at least one heteroatom, unsubstituted or substituted aryl, and unsubstituted or substituted heteroaryl; and (iii) R 7 is an aromatic group having from 6 to 30 carbons, and R 8 is a fully or partially reduced derivative of R 7 .