Synthesis of Bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene (BTMSA) by Direct Reaction of CaC2 with N-(trimethylsilyl)imidazole

In this work, we discovered that bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene (BTMSA) could be synthesized by the reaction of calcium carbide (CaC2) directly with N-(trimethylsilyl)imidazole (TMSIm) in dichloromethane using CuBr as the catalyst, and reaction could occur efficiently at 100 degrees C. Control experiment indicated that the reaction did not proceed via acetylene pathway. As far as we know, this is the first work for BTMSA synthesis by direct reaction of CaC2 and a silylation reagent under mild conditions.