Efficient hydration of alkynes through acid-assisted Brønsted acid catalysis.

The combined acid catalyzed hydration of alkynes is an efficient one-step synthesis of carbonyl compounds. This atom-economical method is effective with a wide range of substrates, and the products are obtained in very good yields with low catalyst loading (0.2%). Furthermore, solid acids like Nafion were also efficient and could be easily recycled multiple times without loss of reactivity.