Iodide as a Nucleophilic Trigger in Aryne Three-Component Coupling for the Synthesis of 2-lodobenzyl Alcohols

The synthetic potential of KI as the iodide source in aryne three-component coupling has been demonstrated using aldehydes as the third component. This mild and transition-metal free coupling reaction allowed the straightforward synthesis of 2-iodobenzyl alcohols in moderate to good yields with good functional group compatibility. Moreover, KBr and KCl could be used as the nucleophilic trigger in this aryne multicomponent coupling (MCC) and N-methylisatin and CO2 could be used as the electrophilic third components.