Mechanism of the reaction of acetylene with Grignard reagents

Kinetics of the reaction between acetylene and phenylmagnesium bromide were investigated in diethyl ether in the presence of small additions of triethylamine and without a catalyst. The mechanistic scheme suggested by Grignard et al, was supplemented with the reaction of bromomagnesiumacetylene with the Grignard reagent. The rate constants for individual reactions were determined. Triethylamine catalyzes the reactions to different extents, the conversions of bromomagnesiumacetylene being the most susceptible to the catalysis. The possible ways of the action of the catalyst were discussed and the importance of nucleophilic assistance was stressed. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.