The higher dendralenes are of scientific interest because they open up a large array of new organic compounds from a relatively simple precursor especially by Diels-Alder chemistry.
[11] This compound is converted to a Grignard reagent by action of magnesium metal which is then reacted with copper(I) chloride to an organocopper intermediate which is in turn dimerized using copper(II) chloride in an oxidative coupling reaction to give the butadiene dimer called [4]dendralene.
The dendralenes with an odd number of alkene units are more reactive due to the presence of favorable s-cis diene conformations and Diels-Alder reactions take place more easily with a preference for the termini.
With simple dienophiles, dendralenes can give quick access to complex molecules in Diels-Alder reactions.
With another set and a larger amount of dienophile, the terminal groups react and the reaction proceeds from the monoadduct to the trisadducts 2 and 2b.