The allene moiety represents an excellent partner for the [2+2] cycloaddition with alkenes and alkynes, affording the cyclobutane and cyclobutene skeletons in a single step. This strategy has been widely studied under thermal, photochemical and microwave induced conditions. More recently, the use of transition metal catalysis has been introduced as an alternative relying on the activation of the allenic component. On the other hand, the intramolecular version has attracted much attention as a strategy for the synthesis of polycyclic compounds in a regio- and stereoselective fashion. This critical review focuses on the most recently developed [2+2] cycloadditions on allenes along with remarkable early works accounting for the mechanism, the regio- and diastereoselectivity of the cycloadducts formed (103 references).

This review presents the reactivity of a variety of substituted bis(allenes) under different reaction conditions, showing the high number of complex structures that can be obtained.