Monosubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles from two-step one-pot deprotection/click additions of trimethylsilylacetylene

Two-step one-pot reaction conditions have been developed for synthesizing 1-substituted-1,2,3-triazoles. This transformation involves the base-catalyzed deprotection of trimethylsilylacetylene followed by Cu-catalyzed Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition under aqueous reaction conditions. Utilization of potassium carbonate as the base and methanol as the alcoholic aqueous co-solvent resulted in optimal yields of the desired products. The reaction conditions were found to be successful for both alkyl and aryl azide reactants, including analogs with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing functionality. This procedure stands as a simple and regioselective means by which to prepare 1-substituted-1,2,3-triazole compounds directly from azide precursors.