Boryl radical-mediated halogen-atom transfer (XAT) enables the Sonogashira-like alkynylation of alkyl halides.

Alkynes are a crucial class of materials with application across the wide range of chemical disciplines. The alkynylation of alkyl halides presents an ideal strategy for assembling these materials. Current methods rely on the intrinsic electrophilic nature of alkyl halides to couple with nucleophilic acetylenic systems, but these methods faces limitations in terms of applicability and generality.