1 Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Free Radical Chemistry and Biotechnology, Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
The first general synthesis of 1-substituted [3]dendralenes has led to the discovery that conjugating groups significantly enhance the rate of Diels-Alder dimerisation relative to both the parent [3]dendralene and to other substituted systems.