Trimethylsilylacetylene is a commonly used reagent in Sonogashira couplings. Being a liquid it is a more convenient reagent than the gaseous acetylene, and the trimethylsilyl group prevents addition onto the other end of the acetylene group. The trimethylsilyl group can then be removed using TBAF, yielding a monosubstituted acetylene. It may also be removed using DBU in situ, allowing the monosubstituted acetylene to react further with another aryl halide to form diphenylacetylene and derivatives.