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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Preparation of a Corannulene-functionalized Hexahelicene by Copper(I)-catalyzed Alkyne-azide Cycloaddition of Nonplanar Polyaromatic Units
Published on: September 18, 2016
Helical Topologies via [4 + 2] Cycloaddition Reactions between Structurally Complex Benzynes and Several Alkenyl
Rong Tang1, Trinadh Kaicharla1, Thomas R Hoye1
1Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, 207 Pleasant Street, SE, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States.
Abstract:
We report here reactions of a number of vinyl-substituted arenes (phenyl, 2-naphthyl, 9-phenanthryl, and 2-triphenylenyl) with benzynes that give rise to structurally complex, polycyclic products having helical topologies. Indene and benzofuran were also explored. The benzynes were formed by heating triyne substrates to effect their cycloisomerization via a hexadehydro-Diels-Alder (HDDA) reaction. The initial [4 + 2], dearomatized adducts showed a variety of unexpected modes of reactivity that are mechanistically intriguing. These include ene reactions, [2 + 2] cycloadditions, and autoxidation events. The complexity-building nature of the processes is notable: in some cases as many as five new rings were formed, and three-component cascades are possible. Notably, some of the overall transformations are fully atom-economical.
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