One method for synthesizing ynones is the acyl substitution reaction of an alkynyldimethylaluminum with an acyl chloride. An alkynyldimethylaluminum compound is the reaction product of trimethylaluminum and a terminal alkyne.
An alternative is the direct coupling of an acyl chloride with a terminal alkyne, using a copper-based nanocatalyst:
Other methods utilize an oxidative cleavage of an aldehyde, followed by reaction with a hypervalent alkynyl iodide, using a gold catalyst.
An alternative but longer synthetic method involves the reaction of an alkynyllithium compound with an aldehyde. The reaction produces a secondary alcohol that then can be oxidized via the Swern oxidation.