"A dendralene is a discrete acyclic cross-conjugated polyene.[1][2] The simplest
dendralene is buta-1,3-diene (1) or [2]dendralene followed by [3]dendralene (2), [4]dendralene (3) and [5]dendralene (4) and so forth. [2]dendralene (butadiene) is the only one not cross-conjugated."
"The name dendralene is pulled together from the words dendrimer, linear and alkene. The higher dendralenes are of scientific interest because they open up a large array of neworganic compounds from a relatively simple precursor especially by Diels-Alder chemistry. Their cyclic counterparts are aptly called radialenes."
"Even-membered dendralenes (e.g. [6]dendralene, [8]dendralene) tend to behave as chains of decoupled and isolated diene units. The ultraviolet absorption maxima equal that of butadiene itself. The dendralenes with an odd number of alkene units are more reactive due to the presence of favorable s-cis diene conformations and Diels-Alder reactions take place more easily with a preference for the termini."