Synthesis of oligoarylacetylenes with defined conjugated sequences using tailor-made soluble polymer supports

Due to their strong tendency to self-aggregate, unfunctionalized oligoarylacetylenes are difficult to synthesize. Here, tailored polystyrene soluble supports, prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization and post-polymerization modification, were tested for preparing sequence-defined oligoarylacetylenes. Controlled aromatic sequences were obtained by iterative Sonogarisha coupling, using phenyl- and pyridine-based building-blocks.