Recent Progress in the Synthesis of Dendralenes: A Decade Update

Dendralenes, also known as acyclic, branched and cross-conjugated polyenes, represent an important class of hydrocarbons. Serving as basic motifs for a number of natural products and photolectric materials as well as key intermediates in the rapid synthesis of polycyclic compounds, dendralenes have recently played a prominent part in the area of material chemistry, polymer chemistry, synthetic chemistry and so on. The study on dendralenes has long been neglected but received renewed attention and witnessed rapid development in recent years. The advanced syntheses of dendralenes in the last decade are summarized and organized in order of the number of conjugated units. The synthetic design and mechanism are highlighted in this review with their future development on synthesis and application proposed as well.