The chemistry of compounds containing highly unsaturated, conjugated π-systems has received a great deal of attention in recent years due the potential uses of these compounds in materials science. 1,2 Among the wide variety of conjugated architectures, polyphenylene and polyphenylacetylene structures, as well as derivatives bearing a heterocyclic unit in their structure, are of particular interest. Their utility as liquid crystals, 3 core structures for dendrimers, 4 building blocks ...