Feeding the Heck Reaction with Alcohol: One‐Pot Synthesis of Stilbenes from Aryl Alcohols and Bromides

Abstract Aryl alcohols are employed as feedstock for the Heck reaction. Keggin‐type heteropolyacids catalyse the selective dehydration of the alcohols to styrenes, which, in one‐pot, undergo palladium‐catalysed Heck arylation with aryl bromides, affording broadly functionalised stilbenes. The choice of solvent is critical for the cascade dehydration–Heck reaction, with electron‐rich aryl alcohols preferring a basic medium while electron‐deficient ones demanding solvents of lower basicity.