Gold(I)-catalyzed diastereoselective hydroacylation of terminal alkynes with glyoxals.

The reaction of an α-ketoaldehyde and a terminal alkyne in the presence of piperidine and a catalytic amount of AuCl delivers 1,2-dicarbonyl-3-enes, products of the formal hydroacylation of the triple bond. The scope of the method is broad; different aryl substituents on the dicarbonyl unit and on the alkyne are well tolerated. The products can be transformed selectively into vinylquinoxalines. Mechanistic studies, including isotope-labeling experiments, indicate that after an initial A(3) -type conversion to propargylic amines, a subsequent base-mediated alkyne-to-allene isomerization and a hydrolysis of the enamine substructure during the workup deliver the formal hydroacylation products.