Abidi alkyne synthesis

In organic chemistry, the Abidi alkyne synthesis or the Abidi transformation is an organic reaction whereby an 1,1-dimethyl-2-alkyl substituted alkene is converted by sodium nitrite in acetic acid/water solvent to give a methyl alkyl alkyne through the net loss of a hydrogen atom and a methyl group, the elements of methane. It is therefore described as a demethanation. The reaction was first reported in 1985 as a serendipitous finding by S. L. Abidi, an analytical chemist at the National Fishery Research Laboratory in La Crosse, Wisconsin.