Synthesis of Tetraarylallenes via Palladium-Catalyzed Addition-Elimination Reactions of 1,1,3-Triaryl-2-propyn1-ols with Aryl Iodides

The palladium-catalyzed reactions of tert-propargylic alcohols with aryl iodides afforded tetraarylallenes in good yields. This reaction involves: (1) oxidative addition of the aryl iodide to Pd(0); (2) arylpalladium intermediate coordination to the carbon-carbon triple bond of the 1,1,3-triaryl-2-propyn-1-ol and subsequent regioselective insertion of the alkynol to form (beta)-hydroxyvinylpalladium species; and (3) (beta)-elimination to produce the tetraarylallenes. Generally, the best results are obtained by employing 5 mol% of Pd(TFA)2, 10 mol% of PPh3, two equivalents of aryl iodide and five equivalents of Et3N in MeCN.