Selenenate Anions (PhSeO-) as Organocatalyst: Synthesis of trans-Stilbenes and a PPV Derivative

The selenenate anion (RSeO-) is introduced as an active organocatalyst for the dehydrohalogen coupling of benzyl halides to form trans-stilbenes. It is shown that RSeO- is a more reactive catalyst than the previously reported sulfur analogues (sulfenate anion, RSO-) and selenolate anions (RSe-) in the aforementioned reaction. This catalytic system was also applied to the benzylic-chloromethyl-coupling polymerization (BCCP) of a bis-chloromethyl arene to form ppv (poly(p-phenylene vinylene))-type polymers with high yields, M-n (average molecular weight) up to 13,000 and D (dispersity) of 1.15.