Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 24, 2026

Metal-free Synthesis of Ynones from Acyl Chlorides and Potassium Alkynyltrifluoroborate Salts
Published on: February 24, 2015
Metal-Free Synthesis of Homopropargylic Alcohols from Aldehydes
Bruno V M Teodoro1, Luiz F Silva1
1Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo , São Paulo, SP 05508-000, Brazil.
Abstract:
The synthesis of homopropargylic alcohols under metal-free and mild condition is described. This transformation is based on a one-pot procedure involving sequential α-alkynylation of acyclic aldehydes using hypervalent iodine reagents and borohydride reduction. The chemistry exhibits broad substrate scope and good scalability, providing a convenient route for the α-alkynylation of aldehydes along with the formation of a quaternary carbon center. The applicability of the method is demonstrated by the gram-scale synthesis of the key synthetic precursor of botulinum toxin inhibitors.
Related Concept Videos
Preparation of Alcohols via Addition Reactions
The acid-catalyzed addition of water to the double bond of alkenes is a large-scale industrial method used to synthesize low-molecular-weight alcohols. An acidic atmosphere is required to allow the hydrogen in the water molecule to act as an electrophile and attack the double bond in an alkene. The addition of a proton to the double bond creates a carbocation intermediate. The proton preferentially bonds to the less substituted end of the double bond to create a more stable carbocation...
Aldehydes and Ketones with Alcohols: Hemiacetal Formation
Alcohols from Carbonyl Compounds: Reduction
Catalytic hydrogenation is similar to the reduction of an alkene or alkyne by adding H2 across the pi bond in the presence of transition metal catalysts like Raney Ni, Pd–C, Pt, or Ru. Aldehydes and ketones can be reduced by this method, often under mild to moderate heat (25–100°C) and...
Alcohols from Carbonyl Compounds: Grignard Reaction
Magnesium from the reagent coordinates with carbonyl oxygen, further reducing the carbonyl carbon's electron density. Thus, the...
Acid Halides to Alcohols: Grignard Reaction
Grignard reagents are a source of carbanions and function as nucleophiles. The mechanism begins with the nucleophilic attack by the carbanion at the carbonyl carbon of the acid halide to form a tetrahedral intermediate. Next, the carbonyl group is re-formed, and the halide ion departs,...
Preparation of Aldehydes and Ketones from Alcohols, Alkenes, and Alkynes

