Synthesis and chemical properties of polyacetylenic derivatives of benzo- and dibenzo- crown ethers

4',5'-Diethynylbenzo-15-crown-5-(6), 4',5'(5'')-diethynyldibenzo-18-crown-6 (10, 11) and 4',5',4'',5''-tetraethynyl-dibenzo-18-crown-6 (12) ethers were synthesized by cross-coupling of the corresponding di-and tetra-iodides (1-4) with trimethylsilylacetylene (5a) or 2-methylbut-3yn-2-ol (5c) followed by treatment of the resulting products with alkali.The Mannich reaction with the di-and tetraethynyl derivatives was also carried out.