First innermolecular Diels–Alder reaction of o-benzyne inside a molecular container compound

Abstract

1,2-Didehydrobenzene 1, incarcerated in the inner phase of a hemicarcerand 2, undergoes an innermolecular Diels–Alder reaction with its surrounding host, which is a new type of reaction at the borderline between intra- and inter-molecular reactions.