[flutterby]

Hey,
I was just wondering what some methods of adding a side chain, for example an alkyl group, to a stilbene would be? Might it be easier to add the side group onto one of the benzene rings and then react the two benzene rings together by a wittig reaction (sp?) ? I'm sorry if this was not in depth enough!

[Two00proof]

You could attempt a Fridel-Crafts on the desired aromatic prior to stilbene formation.  As an alternative, you could do palladium couplings.  For the stilbene formation, I wouldn't do a Wittig, I would opt for a McMurry coupling.  These tend to have a high reaction yield with an additionally high functional group tolerance.

Once you form the stilbene, you can still attempt the Fridel-Crafts, or set it up for a palladium coupling.