Facile Photochemical/Thermal Assisted Hydration of Alkynes Catalysed under Aqueous Media by a Chalcogen Stabilized, Robust, Economical, and Reusable Fe3Se2(CO)9 Cluster

Abstract

In this report, the catalytic potential of chalcogen-stabilized iron carbonyl clusters [Fe3E2(CO)9 (E = S, Se, Te)] for the photolytic hydration of alkynes has been explored. The iron chalcogenide clusters bring excellent transformations of terminal and internal alkynes to their respective keto products in just 25 min photolysis at −5 °C in inert free and aqueous conditions. After the completion of the reaction, the product can be extracted from organic solvent, and due to the lower solubility of the catalyst in water, it can also be isolated and further reused several times prior to any activation. The catalyst was also found to be active in thermal conditions and bring about the desired transformations with average to good catalytic efficiency. Moreover, during the thermal reaction, the catalyst decomposed and formed the nanoparticles of iron selenides, which worked as a single-source precursor for FeSe nanomaterials. The presented photolysis methodology was found to be most feasible, economical, instantly produce the desired product, and work for a wide range of internal and terminal alkynes; hence, all these features made this method superior to the other reported ones. This report also serves as the first catalytic report of chalcogen-stabilized iron carbonyl clusters for alkyne hydrations.