Castro-Stephens reaction formation

In 1988, Linstrumelle and Huynh used an all-palladium route to construct PAM 4 [21]. Reaction of 1,2-dibromobenzene with 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol in triethylamine at 60 °C afforded the monosubstituted product in 63 % yield along with 3% of the disubstituted material (Scheme 6). Alcohol 15 was then treated with aqueous sodium hydroxide and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium-copper(I) iodide catalysts under phase-transfer conditions, generating the terminal phenylacetylene in situ, which cyclotrimerized in 36% yield. Although there was no mention of the formation of higher cyclooligomers, it is likely that this reaction did produce these larger species, as is typically seen in Stephens-Castro coupling reactions [22]. 

More often such bromo- and iodoalkynes are employed with another synthetic goal in mind, namely, in the Cadiot-Chodkiewicz reaction for the formation of symmetric or asymmetric 1,3-diynes by reaction of the haloalkyne with a terminal alkyne (Figure 13.25). Additional reagents essential for the success of this reaction are one equivalent or more of an amine and a substoichiometric amount of Cul. As with the Cacchi and Stephens-Castro coupling reactions of Section 13.3.4, a Cu-acetylide is the reactive species in the Cadiot-Chodkiewicz coupling. It is formed in step 1 of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 13.25. 

In 1963, Castro, Stephens, and co-workers reported a novel indole formation from 2-iodoaniline 201 and copper acetylides 202 in DMF (Scheme 19.52) [97]. When the reaction was conducted in pyridine, the product composition varied from exclusively uncyclized 2-alkynylindoles 199a to mixtures of 200a and 199a, depending on the nature of the acetylide. They confirmed that the cyclization of 199a to 200a... 

Processes similar to the Suzuki coupling reaction have been observed with alkynes. Thus, the Stephens-Castro reaction between unsaturated iodides (aryl, vinyl) and copper(l) acetylides in pyridine solvent results in the formation of new... 

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