Efficient iron(iii)-catalyzed three-component coupling reaction of alkynes, CH2Cl2 and amines to propargylamines

An iron(III)-catalyzed three-component coupling reaction of alkynes, CH(2)Cl(2) and amines was developed for facile synthesis of propargylamines. Preliminary mechanism investigation using in situ FT-IR reveals that the crucial Fe-acetylide intermediate could be formed through C-H bond activation of alkynes thanks to cooperative effect of FeCl(3) and 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine.