Abstract
In this paper, we show a common strategy to synthesize tetraalkenylmethanes, a cross-linker series for building three-dimensional hydrocarbon networks. To demonstrate the feasibility of this method, we have synthesized tetrapentenylmethane. Attempts to synthesize this cross-linker from pentaerythrityl tetrabromide using substitution reactions resulted in the formation of a spiro compound due to intramolecular cyclization. We also show that the difficulty in reactions at the neopentyl carbon site is due to the neopentyl carbanion stability, not the sterics.
Acknowledgments
We thank National Institute of Aerospace for financial support. We also thank Dr. Matthew Herzog at the NASA Langley Research Center for fruitful discussions.