Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Preparation and Use of Carbonyl-decorated Carbenes in the Activation of White Phosphorus
Published on: October 3, 2014
Gold-catalyzed sequential alkyne activation for the synthesis of 4,6-disubstituted phosphorus 2-pyrones
Juntae Mo1, Dongjin Kang, Dahan Eom
1Department of Chemistry, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Tandem gold-catalyzed addition of alkynyl phosphonic acid monoethyl esters to terminal alkynes and cyclization were developed for the synthesis of 4,6-disubstituted phosphorus 2-pyrones in one reaction vessel based on the concept of sequential alkyne activation. Alkynyl enol phosphonates were selectively obtained through the gold-catalyzed addition reaction in the presence of a catalytic amount of triethylamine. Also, gold-catalyzed cyclization of alkynyl enol phosphonates was successful in giving a variety of 4,6-disubstituted phosphorus 2-pyrones.
Related Concept Videos
Aldehydes and Ketones to Alkenes: Wittig Reaction Mechanism
The reaction begins with the nucleophilic addition between a phosphorus ylide and the carbonyl compound. Due to its carbanionic character, phosphorus ylide acts as a strong nucleophile and attacks the electrophilic carbonyl group. This generates a charge-separated dipolar intermediate called betaine. The negatively charged oxygen atom and...
Aldehydes and Ketones to Alkenes: Wittig Reaction Overview
Preparation of Alkynes: Dehydrohalogenation
Alkynes can be prepared by dehydrohalogenation of vicinal or geminal dihalides in the presence of a strong base like sodium amide in liquid ammonia. The reaction proceeds with the loss of two equivalents of hydrogen halide (HX) via two successive E2 elimination reactions.
Preparation of Alkynes: Alkylation Reaction
Alkylation of terminal alkynes with primary alkyl halides in the presence of a strong base like sodium amide is one of the common methods for the synthesis of longer carbon-chain alkynes. For example, treatment of 1-propyne with sodium amide followed by reaction with ethyl bromide yields 2-pentyne.
α-Bromination of Carboxylic Acids: Hell–Volhard–Zelinski Reaction
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Hydroboration-Oxidation
One of the convenient methods for the preparation of aldehydes and ketones is via hydration of alkynes. Hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes is an indirect hydration reaction in which an alkyne is treated with borane followed by oxidation with alkaline peroxide to form an enol that rapidly converts into an aldehyde or a ketone. Terminal alkynes form aldehydes, whereas internal alkynes give ketones as the final product.
