A facile and efficient method for the synthesis of alkynone by carbonylative Sonogashira coupling using CHCl₃ as the CO source

A facile and efficient method for the synthesis of alkynones by a Pd-catalyzed carbonylative Sonogashira coupling reaction starting from aryl iodide, terminal alkyne and chloroform (CHCl₃) as the CO source is described. This procedure proves that CHCl₃ is a cheap and efficient CO source in the presence of CsOH·H₂O as the base. Furthermore, it is applied successfully for the modification of natural products, such as vindoline and tabersonin, to obtain the corresponding products in good yields.