Controlled Photorelease of Alkynoic Acids and Their Decarboxylative Deprotection for Copper-Catalyzed Azide/alkyne Cycloaddition.

A controlled photorelease of alkynoic acids from the meso-methyl BODIPY photoremovable protecting group facilitates their subsequent efficient decarboxylation to give terminal alkynes for a CuI-catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition. The quantum efficiencies of the photochemical step and the kinetics of the click reaction step are reported.