In a 2017 report by Cordiner et al., malononitrile, CH₂(CN)₂, was one of several species sought for but not detected toward TMC-1 using observations by the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope. A previous search by Matthews and Sears described in a 1986 publication had also failed to detect malononitrile. Subsequent experimental characterization of the rotational spectrum of malononitrile and one of its isocyano derivatives by Motiyenko et al. will improve the possibility of detecting these C₃H₂N₂ compounds in interstellar sources.

Malononotrile or propane dinitrile is evidently a very useful feedstock for "medical, industrial, and agricultural chemistry."

September 2024 - Malonontrile has been detected toward TMC-1 by Agúndez and coworkers, with hyperfine splitting observed for K_a ≥ 1.