New and Efficient Iron Halide Mediated Synthesis of Alkenyl Halides through Coupling of Alkynes and Alcohols

A novel, simple, and straightforward one-pot reaction of alkynes with various alcohols in the presence of iron salts (FeCl3 and FeBr3) was described to yield the corresponding alkenyl halides with complete regioselectivity and high stereoselectivity. The reaction is high yielding and works under mild conditions. The iron salts act as Lewis acids and a source of halides, The reaction tolerates a wide variety of functional groups. Noteworthy is that this method is cheap, efficient, and environmentally friendly. ((c) Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)