Alkynes Hydration in Three-Component Double-Acidic Deep Eutectic Solvents
Alessandra Gritti1,2, Valentina Pirovano1, Alessandro Caselli2
1Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, General and Organic Chemistry Section "A. Marchesini", University of Milan, via Golgi 19, 20133, Milano, Italy.
Abstract:
In this work, a sustainable method for the hydration of both terminal and internal alkynes is presented, affording the corresponding ketones with complete Markovnikov regioselectivity. The key advantage of this approach lies in the use of recently developed three-component, double-acidic deep eutectic solvents (DESs), designed by our research team, which act as triple-active media-simultaneously serving as solvents, reagents, and catalysts. The reaction setup is straightforward and can be carried out under conventional or dielectric heating, typically providing the desired products in good to excellent yields. For terminal alkynes, microwave heating further enhances the sustainability of the process by a significant reduction of reaction times. The reusability of the reaction medium is demonstrated through recycling experiments, while the calculation of two green metrics (sE-factor and EcoScale) highlights the environmental benefits of this strategy.
Related Concept Videos
Alkynes to Aldehydes and Ketones: Acid-Catalyzed Hydration
Analogous to alkenes, alkynes also undergo acid-catalyzed hydration. While the addition of water to an alkene gives an alcohol, hydration of alkynes produces different products such as aldehydes and ketones.
Acid-Catalyzed Hydration of Alkenes
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration
Acidity of 1-Alkynes
The acidic strength of hydrocarbons follows the order: Alkynes > Alkenes > Alkanes. The strength of an acid is commonly expressed in units of pKa — the lower the pKa, the stronger the acid. Among the hydrocarbons, terminal alkynes have lower pKa values and are, therefore, more acidic. For example, the pKa values for ethane, ethene, and acetylene are 51, 44, and 25, respectively, as shown here.
Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration of Alcohols to Alkenes
Acid Halides to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis
As shown below, the mechanism involves a nucleophilic attack by water at the carbonyl carbon to form a tetrahedral intermediate. This is followed by the reformation of the carbon–oxygen π bond along with the departure of a halide ion. A final proton transfer step yields carboxylic...


