9.3 Synthesis of Alkynes

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    E2 Elimination of Geminal or Vicinal Dihalides

    Alkynes are produced by E2 Elimination of either geminal or vicinal dihalides.  A very strong base is required and NaNH2 is the most common and favors formation of terminal alkynes.  Grignard reagents (organomagnesium halides) are less commonly used as the base and are not usually presented here as they are generally not introduced until later in the course in the chapter on alcohols, but I include this here as a small percentage of undergraduates will be presented with this fact.

    geminal dihalide
    geminal dihalide 02
    vicinal dihalide