Alder-Ene Reactions of Arynes

Efficient Alder-ene reactions of various arynes generated directly from bis-1,3-diynes are described. The reactivity of ene donors with different tethers was examined under thermal and metal-catalyzed conditions, which indicates that both the formation of aryne intermediates and their ene reactions are less sensitive to the catalyst than to the structural features of the substrates.