Acrylamides from alkynes: a synthetic overview

Abstract

The transformation of alkynes into nitrogen-containing compounds has emerged as a crucial strategy in modern synthetic chemistry. This review article highlights diverse catalytic approaches for incorporating nitrogen from amines, hydroxylamines, nitriles, and related functional groups into alkynes, leading to valuable acrylamides. Various transition metals, including copper, nickel, iron, zinc, and palladium, play key roles in facilitating hydroamination, hydroboration, carbonylation, and other transformations. This review explores both recent metal-catalyzed and metal-free methodologies published in the last 15 years, emphasizing the importance of precise control over selectivity and functional-group compatibility.