Convenient synthesis of (triphenyl)germyl and (triphenydstannyl substituted allenes

Copper-Catalyzed Regioselective and Stereoselective Coupling of Grignard Reagents with Pent-1-en-4-yn-3-yl Benzoates: A Shortcut to ( Z) -1,5-Disubstituted Pent-3-en-1-ynes from Accessible Starting Materials

Copper-catalyzed coupling of Grignard reagents with pent-1-en-4-yn-3-yl benzoates occurs regioselectively at the terminal alkenyl carbon rather than the alkynyl site, leading to the stereoselective formation of unexpected ( Z) -1,5-disubstituted pent-3-en-1-ynes without generation of the initially expected alkenyl allene products. By using easily accessible starting materials, this reaction can provide direct access to thermodynamically unfavorable Z-configured enynes, which widely exist in many bioactive natural products, such as the anti-inflammatory components in henna.

Synthesis of 3-stannyl and 3-silyl propargyl phosphanes and the formation of a phosphinoallene

The group 14 chloropropargyls R3EC ≡ CCH2Cl (R3E = (n)Bu3Sn, Ph3Sn, Me2PhSi, (i)Pr3Si, (n)Pr3Si, (n)Bu3Si), obtained by a modified literature procedure, react with LiPPh2 to afford the novel propargyl phosphanes Ph2PCH2C ≡ CER3 in high yield, as viscous oils; (Me3Si)2PCH2C ≡ CSiPhMe2 is similarly obtained from LiP(SiMe3)2. In contrast, the reaction of PhC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CCH2MgCl with ClP(NEt2)2 fails to produce a comparable propargyl phosphane, but generates preferentially (>70%) the novel phosphinoallene (Et2N)2PC(Ph) = C = CH2, which is characterised spectroscopically, and through its reaction with HCl. The coordination chemistry of representative phosphanes is explored with respect to platinum and palladium for the first time.

The chemistry of bisallenes

This review describes the preparation, structural properties and the use of bisallenes in organic synthesis for the first time. All classes of compounds containing at least two allene moieties are considered, starting from simple conjugated bisallenes and ending with allenes in which the two cumulenic units are connected by complex polycyclic ring systems, heteroatoms and/or heteroatom-containing tethers. Preparatively the bisallenes are especially useful in isomerization and cycloaddition reactions of all kinds leading to the respective target molecules with high atom economy and often in high yield. Bisallenes are hence substrates for generating molecular complexity in a small number of steps (high step economy).