Electrophilic alkynylation: the dark side of acetylene chemistry

In addition to the well-established nucleophilic alkynylation, the use of electrophilic alkynes can expand tremendously the scope of acetylene transfer reactions. The use of metal catalysis has recently led to a rebirth of this research area. Halogenoalkynes, hypervalent alkynyliodoniums, acetylene sulfones and in situ oxidized terminal acetylenes are the most often used reagents for electrophilic alkynylation. Heteroatoms such as N, O, S and P can be now efficiently alkynylated. For C-C bond formation, electrophilic acetylenes can be coupled with different organometallic reagents. Recently, the first breakthrough in direct C-H and C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond alkynylation has also been reported. Finally, sulfonyl acetylenes are efficient for alkyne transfer on carbon-centered radicals.