Vinyl halides 24 and 25 were prepared from the tribromoromethyl carbinol 23, obtained in turn by reaction of benzo[b]thiophene-2-carboxaldehyde with the tribromomethane anion 43 generated in situ from 2,2,2-tribromoethanoic acid in DMSO (Scheme 24). 44 The intermediate 23 was treated with SOCl 2 or Et 2 NSF 3 to give the vinyl halides 24 (33% yield) or 25 (32% yield) through halogenation followed by dehydrobromination.2.1.3. Substitution Reactions. Although the most common source for gem-dibromoalkenes are carbonyl compounds, there are some examples in which alkene and alkyne derivatives have been used as starting materials. Reaction of longifolene 26 and camphene 29 with Hg(OAc) 2 /NaCl resulted in the isolation of vinylic dimercurichlorides 27 and 30, respectively (Scheme 25). These organometallics by treatment with Br 2 in pyridine afforded the related gem-dibromoalkenes 28 and 31 in very high yields. 45 Recently, 1,1-dibromo-2-arylethenes have been readily obtained in good yields (66À90%) via double ipso-bromo desilylation with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) of 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2arylethenes, which were in turn easily obtained in high yields by Heck coupling of aryliodides with ethene-1,1-diylbis(trimethylsilane) (Scheme 26). 46 Interestingly, 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2-alkenylethenes, for example, 1,1-bis(trimethylsilyl)-4-phenylbuta-1,3-diene, under the same reaction conditions led to the selective formation of the dibrominated products containing 1,3-diene fragments.A variety of gem-dibromides were prepared from stannyl acetylenes (Scheme 27). These compounds by treatment with 1.4 equiv of Cp 2 Zr(H)Cl generated the related 1,1-heterobimetallic species of tin and zirconium, which by brominolysis with 2.5 equiv of Br 2 in CCl 4 or 3.0 equiv of N-bromosuccinimide at room temperature gave the corresponding dibromides in 53À83% yields. 47 2.1.4. Miscellaneous Reactions. Nenajdenko and co-workers reported an efficient one-pot transformation of a wide range of aldehydes and ketones into the corresponding dibromoalkenes via intermediate formation of the related hydrazones (Scheme 28). 48 Thus, these carbonyl compounds were treated with hydrazine hydrate, and when the starting materials disappeared, CBr 4 and catalytic CuCl were added to give the target products in 43À97% yields from aldehydes 48a and 43À97% yields from linear, cyclic, and caged ketones, 48a depending on the steric hindrance of the staring material. Analogously, a wide range of hydrazones of (hetero)aryl alkyl ketones (electron-rich and electron-poor) was converted into the related dibromoalkenes in 23À92% yields. 48b The proposed mechanism of the reaction starts from the oxidation of CuCl with CBr 4 to give a Cu(II) salt, which in turn oxidizes the hydrazone to the diazoalkane (Scheme 28). Decomposition of the diazoalkane generates a copperÀcarbene complex, which by interaction with CBr 4 finally leads to the dibromoalkene.