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IntroductionAlkynes are highly versatile building blocks for organic chemists due to the ease with which they can be modifi ed. The selective semi -hydrogenation of alkynes is an important process for the fi ne chemical industry, manufacturing of insect sex pheromones and vitamins [1] , and for industrial polymerization processes, where removal of alkynes from alkene feedstocks is crucial [2] . The hydrometallation of alkynes is perhaps the most straightforward method for the production of vinylmetal intermediates. Vinylmetal reagents are important organic intermediates that can function in oxidation and reduction reactions as nucleophiles or in Pdcatalyzed cross -coupling reactions.This chapter covers three methods for alkyne reductions: hydrogenation [3, 4] , hydroboration [5] and hydrosilylation [6] . For the hydroalumination and hydromagnesiation of alkynes, the reader is directed to the relevant sections in Chapter 18 . Their reduction with dissolved metals is discussed in Chapter 17 . Also of interest, but not discussed here, are the hydrometallation reactions including hydrostannation [7] , hydrogermylation [8] and hydroselenation [9] .
HydrogenationThe addition of molecular hydrogen (H 2 ) to carbon -carbon multiple bonds has been studied extensively and is a technique frequently used by chemists [10] . The partial reduction of alkynes gives alkenes, whereas total reduction gives alkanes. Total reduction can be simply achieved by catalytic hydrogenation. Alkanes are easily obtained with palladium [11] , Raney nickel [12] or Adams ' platinum oxide [13] under low pressures of hydrogen. A number of alkynes have been fully reduced with the complexes [RhCl(PPh 3 ) 3 ] and [Ru(OAc)(PPh 3 ) 3 ] [14] . The electronrich titanium complexes [Cp 2 Ti(PhC ≡ CPh)(PMe 3 )], [(MeCp) 2 Ti(PhC ≡ CPh)(PMe 3 )]