 This caused a study of the thermal unimolecular reactions that acetyl cyanide undergoes.The unimolecular decompositions that acetyl cyanide undergo have been confirmed to be less energetically favorable than the molecule undergoing isomerization to acetyl isocyanide.However, through other photolysis experiments have resulted in the formation of a CN radical through acetyl cyanide decomposing into CH3CO + CN or CH3COCN.