Palladium-catalyzed acylation and/or homo-coupling of aryl- and alkyl-acetylenes

Allyl or benzyl halides, through a Pd(0)-catalyzed reaction and under CO pressure, generate acyl-palladium/halides that, in the presence of a base and an aryl- and alkyl-acetylene, undergo nucleophilic acyl substitution giving conjugated acetylenic ketones. Diynes, resulting from alkyne/alkyne homo-coupling, were instead the main products in reactions performed without allyl or benzyl halides. Moreover, dimerization, trimerization, and cyclotrimerization reactions of acetylenes were observed in reaction carried out even without base.