An Atom‐Economical Route to Substituted β‐Arylethyl Ketones: Phosphomolybdic Acid‐Catalyzed Carbohydroxylation of Terminal Alkynes in Organic Carbonate

Abstract

Abstract A highly efficient and atom‐economical route for the synthesis of substituted β‐arylethyl ketones was developed by using cheap phosphomolybdic acid (H 3 PMo 12 O 40 ) as catalyst and non‐volatile propylene carbonate (PC) as green solvent via the carbohydroxylation of terminal alkynes with benzylic alcohols under mild conditions. Various functional groups on the benzylic alcohols and terminal alkynes were tolerated, giving the corresponding substituted β‐arylethyl ketones as products in good to excellent yields (up to 95%). It is worth noting that a turnover number (TON) of up to 520 was achieved in the protocol. The mechanism investigation showed that PC might stabilize the heteropoly anion and the carbocation intermediate thus facilitating the carbohydroxylation reaction. magnified image