Stereoselective Synthesis of Tetraarylethylenes Enabled by Reductive anti-1,2-Dimetallation of Alkynes

Tetraarylethylenes (TAEs) have been gaining attention from various scientific disciplines for their characteristic chemical and physical properties. From the synthetic perspective, however, efficient methods for the selective synthesis of different isomers of TAEs are still underdeveloped. Here, we report the regio- and stereoselective synthesis of TAEs by means of sodium-promoted reductive anti-1,2-dimagnesiation of alkynes. Subsequent transmetallation to zinc generates trans-1,2-dizincioalkenes, which underwent the stereoselective arylation under a palladium catalysis to afford a variety of TAEs that had been difficult to prepare according to the conventional procedures. In addition, the present method accommodates not only diarylacetylenes but also alkyl aryl acetylenes and thus enables to synthesize a wide range of all-carbon tetrasubstituted alkenes.