Copper-Mediated Simple and Efficient Synthesis of Tribenzohexadehydro[12]annulene and Its Derivatives

A simple and efficient synthesis of tribenzohexadehydro[12]annulene and its derivatives was carried out using coupling reaction of acetylenes with iodoarenes in the presence of catalytic amounts of CuI and PPh3, together with three equivalents of K2CO3 in DMF. This synthetic procedure was applied to the synthesis of a large annulenoannulene derivative.