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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Preparation of a Corannulene-functionalized Hexahelicene by Copper(I)-catalyzed Alkyne-azide Cycloaddition of Nonplanar Polyaromatic Units
Published on: September 18, 2016
Operationally simple copper-promoted coupling of terminal alkynes with benzyl halides
Katherine A Davies1, Ryan C Abel, Jeremy E Wulff
1Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, V8W 3V6.
Abstract:
Benzyl chlorides and bromides are shown to undergo copper-promoted coupling with a variety of terminal alkynes including, for the first time, electron-poor acetylenes such as methyl propiolate. The reaction permits easy access to a wide range of (functionalized) benzyl-substituted propiolates (as well as several related alkynes) from commercially available benzyl halides. These products should in turn function as useful building blocks for the synthesis of previously inaccessible (functionalized) benzyl-substituted heterocycles.
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