Palladium-catalyzed hydroformylation of terminal arylacetylenes with glyoxylic acid

A simple, practical and governable palladium-catalyzed hydroformylation of terminal arylacetylenes has been disclosed. The reaction proceeds under syngas-free conditions, using readily available glyoxylic acid as the formyl source, under mild conditions, giving rise to a broad range of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.