Dimeric Manganese‐Catalyzed Hydroalkenylation of Alkynes with a Versatile Silicon‐Based Directing Group

Herein, we present a manganese-catalyzed, branched-selective hydroalkenylation of terminal alkynes, under mild conditions through facile installation of a versatile silanol as a removable directing group. With an alkenyl boronic acid as the coupling partner, this reaction produces stereodefined (E,E)-1,3-dienes with high regio-, chemo- and stereoselectivity. The protocol features mild reaction conditions such as room temperature and an air atmosphere, while maintaining excellent functional group compatibility. The resulting 1,3-dienesilanol products serve as versatile building blocks, as the removal of the silanol group allows for the synthesis of both branched terminal 1,3-dienes for downstream coupling reactions, as well as stereoselective construction of linear (E,E)-1,3-dienes and (E,E,E)- or (E,E,Z)-1,3,5-trienes. In addition, a Diels-Alder cycloaddition can smoothly and selectively deliver silicon-containing pentasubstituted cyclohexene derivatives. Mechanistic investigations, in conjunction with DFT calculations, suggest a bimetallic synergistic activation model to account for the observed enhanced catalytic efficiency and good regioselectivity.