An efficient and straightforward organocatalytic method for the direct, multicomponent carboxylation of terminal alkynes with CO₂ and organochlorides, towards propargylic esters, is reported for the first time. 1,3-Di-tert-butyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium chloride, a simple, widely-available, stable, and cost-efficient N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) precursor salt was used as the (pre)catalyst. A wide range of phenylacetylenes, bearing electron-withdrawing or electron-donating substituents, react with allyl-chlorides, benzyl chlorides, or 2-chloroacetates, providing the corresponding propargylic esters in low to excellent yields. DFT calculations on the mechanism of this transformation indicate that the reaction is initiated with the formation of an NHC-carboxylate, by addition of the carbene to a molecule of CO₂. Then, the nucleophilic addition of this species to the corresponding chlorides has been computed to be the rate limiting step of the process. 

The selective synthesis of a-functionalized ketones with two similar enolizable positions can be accomplished using allylic alcohols and iridium(III) catalysts. A formal 1,3-hydrogen shift on allylic alcohols generates catalytic iridium-enolates in a stereospecific manner, which are able to react with electrophiles to yield alpha-functionalized ketones as single constitutional isomers. However, the employment of nucleophiles to react with the nucleophilic catalytic enolates in this chemistry is still unknown. Herein, we report an umpolung strategy for the selective synthesis of alpha-alkoxy carbonyl compounds by the reaction of iridium enolates and alcohols promoted by an iodine(III) reagent. Moreover, the protocol also works in an intra-molecular fashion to synthesize 3(2H)-furanones from gamma-keto allylic alcohols. Experimental and computational investigations have been carried out, and mechanisms are proposed for both the inter- and intramolecular reactions, explaining the key role of the iodine(III) reagent in this umpolung approach.

Herein, we report a catalytic system based on the earth-abundant manganese for the ketone, amine, alkyne (KA²) reaction. The efficiency of manganese manifests at relatively high temperatures, combined with sustainable reaction conditions, and provides a tool for accessing propargylamines from structurally diverse starting materials, including synthetically relevant and bioactive molecules. Our efforts were also aimed at shedding light on the catalytic mode of action of manganese in this transformation, in order to explain its temperature-related behavior. The use of computational methods reveals mechanistic aspects of this reaction indicating important points regarding the reactivity of both manganese and ketones.