10.1016/S0040-4039(00)87344-X
The study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of the condensation of enol dichloroacetylene with trichloroethylene to form α-dichlorovinyl ketone, which was previously unclear. The study concluded that the reaction proceeds via dichloroacetylene as an essential intermediate and the mechanism is elimination-addition. The fate of the initial adduct of dichloroacetylene and enol depends on the competition between unimolecular elimination of Cl- and bimolecular proton abstraction. The key chemicals used in the process include trichloroethylene, dichloroacetylene (ClC≡CCl), lithium diisopropylamide (LDA), hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) and lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide (LiN(SiMe3)2). The study also involved the use of deuterated trichloroethylene to study the isotope effect, supporting the proposed mechanism. This work has important implications for the synthetic scope of haloacetylene chemistry in the ethynylation and vinylation of enol systems.