Rhodium-Catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov Transfer Hydroiodination of Terminal Alkynes.

A rhodium-catalyzed anti-Markovnikov hydroiodination of aromatic and aliphatic terminal alkynes is reported. Depending on the choice of ligand and substrate, either (E)- or (Z)-configured alkenyl iodides are obtained in high to exclusive isomeric purity. The reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope and high functional group tolerance, employing easily accessible or commercially available aliphatic iodides as HI surrogates through a shuttle process. The synthesized vinyl iodides were applied in several C-C and C-heteroatom bond-forming reactions with full retention of the stereoselectivity. The developed method could be used to significantly shorten the total synthesis of a marine cis-fatty acid. Additionally, initial deuterium-labeling experiments and stoichiometric reactions shed some light on the potential reaction mechanism.